Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomises the victory of Good over Evil. While references to Durga Puja in Bengal can be found back to the middle ages, it did not become popular among the zamindars, or wealthy landowners of Bengal. In 1757, an elaborate puja was even held in honor of Rober Clive by Raja Nabakrishna Deb of Calcutta. Lord Clive wished to thank for his victory in the Battle of Plassey. By the early 20th century, these festivities had evolved into Sarbojanin ("involving all") pujas, in which people from all creed, castes and religions participate. These pujas further helped to create a feeling of unity during independence. Over the years, both the icons and the pandals have gotten more and more elaborate, and each year many competitions are held among Pujo clubs for the best pandals and puja themes.
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal, where it is a five-day annual holiday. And as in Kolkata, people eagerly and anxiously wait for Durga Puja to come.
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal, where it is a five-day annual holiday. And as in Kolkata, people eagerly and anxiously wait for Durga Puja to come.
Durga puja mood starts off with the Mahishasuramardini – a two-hour radio programme that has been popular with the community since the 1950s. While earlier it used to be conducted live, later a recorded version began to be broadcast. Bengalis traditionally wake up at 4 in the morning on Mahalaya day to listen to the enchanting voice of the late Birendra Krishna Bhadra and the late Pankaj Kumar Mullick on All India Radio. During the week of Durga Puja, in the entire state of West Bengal, especially Kolkata. Comes to a standstill. . In playgrounds, traffic circles, ponds—wherever space may be available—elaborate structures called pandals are set up, many with nearly a year's worth of planning behind them. Durga Puja is celebrated for six days. People get busy in pandal hoppings, eating their favourite food, fancying their new dresses, living live to their fullest. Oshtomi, the eighth day of devi Durga’s stay at her abode, is d day when all get dressed up in their traditional dresses and gathers to offer flower worship or pushpanjali to her.
Durga Puja is one of the most important events in the Bengali society's calendar. In Kolkata alone more than two thousand pandals are set up, all clamouring for the admiration and praise of the populace. The whole city is decorated with lights. People all across the country visit Kolkata during this time, and every night seems like a carnival where thousands of people go pandal hopping. All the traffic comes to a standstill and the government introduces a special task force to control the law and order. Durga Puja in Kolkata is often referred to as the Rio Carnival of the Eastern Hemisphere.
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