The Puja proper runs five days, from Shashthi to Dashami, but the city starts moving well before. Mahalaya, about a week ahead, opens Devi Paksha with a radio broadcast at four in the morning that almost every Bengali household still listens to. From Chaturthi onward the pandals open informally and the crowds build.
The names
Places, pujas and people, with what each one is| Name | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Mahalaya | city-wide, and at the ghats | The Mahishasuramardini radio broadcast at 4am, aired since 1931 and narrated by Birendra Krishna Bhadra. Tarpan is offered at the river ghats at dawn. |
| Chaturthi and Panchami | the pandals | Unofficial opening. The best time to actually see the work without queues. |
| Shashthi | the pandals | Bodhon — the formal awakening of the goddess. The Puja begins. |
| Saptami | the pandals and the ghats | Nabapatrika, the nine plants, bathed at the river at dawn. |
| Ashtami | the pandals | The biggest day. Anjali in the morning; Sandhi Puja at the junction of Ashtami and Nabami. |
| Sandhi Puja | the pandals | The forty-eight minutes spanning the end of Ashtami and start of Nabami; 108 lamps lit. |
| Nabami | the pandals | The last full day; the crowds are at their heaviest at night. |
| Dashami | the pandals and the ghats | Sindoor khela, then immersion. The city empties into the river. |
| Bijoya | everywhere | The days after: visiting, sweets, and embraces between families. |
Worth knowing
- Chaturthi and Panchami are the days to see the pandals properly.
- Ashtami morning anjali requires arriving early and fasting until it is done.
- Sandhi Puja is fixed by the almanac, not the clock; check the time for that year.
- Dashami afternoon the roads close for the immersion processions.
- The metro runs extended hours through the five days.
More on Durga Puja
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