2022
Each year in India, people come together for Durga Puja, a festival commemorating Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura. Celebrations take many forms across the country, but it’s an especially joyous occasion in Kolkata.
That’s why, in September, a group of Local Guides (@amitabh, @anuj @Joy, @ReshamDas, @AveekM and @GautamC) gathered there to explore the festivities. We filmed this meet-up for a video that’s coming soon — but in the meantime, we wanted to share some photos from our adventure.
We started our exploration by visiting Kumartuli, where every worshiper comes to take home an idol of the goddess. For months, the artisans here had been creating idols to meet the city’s demand.
On Day 2, Local Guides went pandal hopping. We explored the lanes of Behala, then hosted a livestream from the pandal at Barisha Club.
On Day 3, we saw some of Kolkata’s most famous pandals: Deshapriya Park and Maddox Square Park. Both attract the thousands of worshippers throughout the day and night.
It’s important to stay fed and hydrated when you’re exploring the pandals. Luckily, there are food stalls all around. We visited one for puchka.
We all had a great time exploring Durga Puja in Kolkata! Watch for the video soon on our YouTube channel, and tell us about your own festival season adventures in the comments.
