Overview
- Pandals and idols were formally unveiled and devotees began visiting after Mahashashthi rituals, with communities in Kolkata, Jamshedpur and other cities opening to the public on Friday.
- The Mukherjee family led the high-profile inauguration of the 80th North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Mumbai, with actress Kajol sharing photos and videos of the family ritual on Instagram.
- Organisers in Guwahati have finalised permissions for roughly 550 community pujas, illustrating the logistical work by police and civic bodies to manage crowds, traffic and safety during the five-day observance.
- Across the world Bengali communities held local pujas and cultural programmes in places such as Times Square, Germany, Canada and London, while 132 Teesta-displaced families at Majhua will hold their first puja at a new settlement supported by a state grant.
- The festival combines devotional rites such as Kalparambha and Bodhan with competitive, theatrical pandal culture, a tension that has grown over decades as committees balance ritual continuity, public spectacle and community care.