Wearing his infectious goofy grin, 'Samba Magician' Ronaldinho cast a spell on the football-crazy denizens of Kolkata as his arrival for a two-day visit in Kolkata ushered in an early onset of the Durga Puja festival.
Mahalaya, though essentially about the goddess, wasn't religious for us. And it isn't for most Bengalis. Mahalaya is an emotion. It's gooseflesh for a memory. A welling up of happy tears. A celebration of what is to come.
A flight attendant from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, was among those killed in a plane crash that also claimed the life of an NCP leader and three others. The news has brought deep mourning to her native village.
A community Durga Puja pandal based on the theme of 'Fight Against Coronavirus' at Raiganj in North Dinajpur district, West Bengal.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that the BJP will form the government in West Bengal after the upcoming assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule. He criticised the TMC for vote-bank politics, hindering development, and failing to protect women, while promising unprecedented development under a BJP government.
Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella organisation of 550 community Durga Pujas in Kolkata and neighbouring areas, also published guidelines to ensure that the festivities are held following COVID-safety protocols.
'No one can wipe-off our glorious collaboration in The Kerala Story and Bastar, from Indian cinema.' 'When we create history and are scrutiniSed in public, we must be extremely responsible in our behaviour and conduct.'
'I want to take Durga Maa's blessings and achieve a lot more'
Please continue to e-mail your festive pictures and stories to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subjectline: Navratri, Durga Puja, Golu 2025). Don't forget to include your name and location. We will publish the best photographs on Rediff.
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Glimpses of Prime Minister Narendra Modi participating in the Durga Puja celebrations at Chittaranjan Park in New Delhi on the occasion of Maha Ashtami on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
Don't miss these pictures from the festivities.
Please e-mail your festive pictures and stories to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subjectline: Navratri, Durga Puja, Golu 2025). Don't forget to include your name and location. We will publish the best photographs on Rediff.
Fondly remembering for his memorable spells at Eden Gardens, the former cricketer expressed gratitude towards the city and its people, saying he would forever cherish his bond with Kolkata.
Tarun Vijay visits 20 Durga Puja pandals in five towns in Bangladesh and comes back impressed.
The Mukherjees are in a festive mood!
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is Trinamool Congress's Bhabanipur bypoll candidate, of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by participating in a programme where the West Bengal government announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to each Durga puja organising committee ahead of the state's biggest festival.
Bollywood stars turned revelers during the ongoing Durga Puja and Navratri.
Durga Puja celebrations are on in the city and Bollywood has joined in with great gusto!
A division bench of the high court comprising Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee, while hearing a public interest litigation, said that no visitors will be allowed to enter the marquees. For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court ordered.
Hindu temples in Bangladesh have been vandalised by some unidentified miscreants during Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary force in 22 districts after three people were killed and many others injured in riots, media reports said.
After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
Movie stars arrived at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal to seek blessings, partake in the bhog and serve it.
Hundreds and thousands of devout throng puja pandals as festive fever grips Kolkata on Friday, the second last day of Durga puja. But if weathermen are to be believed the rain gods may just play spoilsport.
These 8 states emerged as the country's most-travelled destinations for local Indian visitors, according to Ministry Of Tourism's most recent statistics which are from 2024.
The annual festivities of Durga Puja are set to start and the City of Joy is gearing up for it. Sayan Dutta offers us a peek into the preparations.
Please continue to e-mail your festive pictures and stories to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subjectline: Navratri, Durga Puja, Golu 2025). Don't forget to include your name and location. We will publish the best photographs on Rediff.
Accompanied by her husband, Nusrat wearing a white and red pat saree and mask offered Anjali (flowers) on the auspicious Maha Ashtami day at the Suruchi Sangha pandal in New Alipore.
If the Puja as a brand can be marketed more effectively outside Bengal, even overseas, it might do wonders for the economy, says Atanu Biswas.
Bollywood's Bengali ladies are enjoying Durga Puja as seen from these weekend pictures from the North Bengal Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal.
Here's what your favourite celebrities have been up to.
Several Bollywood stars visited the Durga Puja pandal to pay their respects.
Rediff readers went pandal hopping and shared these pictures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday charged the Trinamool Congress government with 'playing with national security by protecting infiltrators' for vote-bank politics, and said ending the ruling party's 'maha jungle raj' was vital to restore law and order, development and investor confidence in the state.
A Durga Puja pandal in New Delhi turns literature into art.
Braving intermittent rain, hordes of people were seen flocking big-ticket Durga puja pandals in the city on Monday morning with little or no regard for social distancing norms.
The organisers, however, remained unfazed, insisting it was in line with the 'communal harmony' theme chosen by the committee for this year's puja.
