Take a look at the pictures!
Be prepared to bump into some special people at the pandal.
Finally, Rani makes an appearance!
Kolkata may host the most lavish Durga puja pandals in the country complete with elaborate decoration and dazzling illumination, but in Cuttack the puja is popular for the extravagance in style reflected in gold and silver work.
The five-day Durga Puja festival in West Bengal ended on Wednesday with people celebrating Bijaya Dashami which marked Goddess Durga's return to her husband's home.
Far from the rough and tumble of politics, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is in Kolkata at his ancestral home at Miriti in Birbhum district to perform Durga Puja as he has been doing every year.
"I extend puja greetings (Saradiyar Subhecchha) to all people and wish them well," a relaxed Mukherjee said while leaving for his ancestral home with his wife.
Taking corporatisation of Durga Puja festival to a new height, a prominent puja committee in Kolkata has sold the rights of the celebrations to a US company and roped in a Bollywood superstar as its brand ambassador.
The actress was spotted at various events in the city, escorted by husband Abhishek and parents-in-law Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.
'Perhaps the greatest curse that modern technology has inflicted on the people during the pujas is powerful public address systems that blare out songs which you have no option but to listen to,' says Subir Roy.
The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO in the heart of Kolkata's red light district, has decided to celebrate Durga Puja, reports Indrani Roy/Rediff.com.Speaking to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com, the sex workers say that they want to get rid of ostracisation and be allowed to celebrate Durga Puja just as others do.
Lakhan Singh and his neighbor Mithlesh Rai, both in their mid 50s, are cursing the floods in Bihar that has made them forgo Durga Puja celebrations in their village. They are two of hundreds of thousands of villagers in Bihar's Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani and Samastipur districts, which have been badly hit by floods.
A halogen light at the pandal overheated, causing an electric wire to catch fire at multiple points simultaneously. Soon the fire engulfed the wooden scaffolding and the tent, Rathi said.
The actress is making most of the festive season.
Security has been beefed up in Mirati village of Birbhum district in view of President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to his ancestral house during the Durga puja rituals, official sources said on Friday.
The incident happened at a crowded pandal in the Raja Dal locality of the town, Superintendent of Police Swarna Prabhat said.
Private buses and taxis in West Bengal may go off the roads after the Durga Puja if fares are not increased, even as operators are pinning their hopes on an assurance by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to look into the issue after Lakshmi Puja.
This Puja-typical behaviour invariably tells you how enthusiastic Bengalis are when it comes to Devi Durga and dhunuchi naach and everything in between.
Kajol, daughter Nysa Devgan, sister Tanisha Mukerji participated in the Sindoor Khela ceremony at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja.
The Delhi government on Monday permitted the use of loudspeakers and public address systems till midnight during Ramlila, Durga Puja, Dussehra and related events.
Film folk arrived at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Mumbai to celebrate the festival with prayers, fashion, dance and bhog.
The sound of the dhak is an essential part of Pujo celebrations, says Indrayanee Mukherjee.
'The last time I played dandiya, I injured my eye very badly! Now, I watch other people playing the garba.'
We bring you traditional Bengali preparations to help celebrate Durga Puja.
"The puja is around 100 years old. Pranab's grandfather late Jangaleswar Mukherjee started the puja," said Goutam Roy, who has been looking after puja arrangements for the last couple of years.
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.
If you're looking for some fashion inspiration this Durga Pooja, Namrata Thakker has got you covered.
As the country prepares to celebrate Durga Puja from Monday, here are some colourful avatars of the deity.
It is time to welcome back Ma Durga, who is on her annual five-day visit to her father Himalaya's home, with her sons Ganesh and Kartik and daughters Saraswati and Lakshmi.
The Sree Bhumi Sporting Club in Kolkata plan to make the Vatican City the theme for its pandal for the Durga Puja festival.
The victim said she had to leave her seat and stand up to watch the show, which is when she felt Abhijeet touching her inappropriately.
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.
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.
The card, depicting the goddess in red on a yellow backdrop, with a prominent eye aiming a trident at an invisible adversary bears Mamata's signature and the caption 'Sharodiya o Deepavalir Shubheccha'.
But the more significant development is that just as politicians took over pujas some years ago, NRIs, hi-tech and market managers are now moving in. I have nothing against them except that it would be sad if professional commerce overwhelms the spirit of collective youthful effort that traditionally sustained public pujas.
Rediff readers tell us how they are celebrating the festival.
Durga Puja, the festival that honours goddess Durga and celebrates her victory over the mythological demon named Mahishasura, kickstarts on Sunday.
'It is time again for Durga Puja.' 'Time again to be struck by India's astonishing cultural irony, one where the female form is worshipped as divinity while millions of real women are forced to lead restricted lives,' notes Shuma Raha.
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