Durga Puja Festival:
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Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated in September or October, most notably in Kolkata, West Bengal.
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The festival marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga.
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In the months preceding the festival, small artisanal workshops sculpt images of Durga using unfired clay pulled from the Ganga River.
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The worship of the goddess then begins on the inaugural day of Mahalaya when eyes are painted onto the clay images to bring the goddess to life.
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It ends on the tenth day, when the images are immersed in the river from where the clay came. Thus, the festival has also come to signify ‘home-coming’ or a seasonal return to one’s roots.
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The festival is also characterized by large-scale installations of Goddess Durga in ‘pandals’ and pavilions where people get together. Folk music, culinary, craft and performing arts traditions are also part of the celebration.