Durga Puja 2026: How the Sound of the Dhak Made This Festival Mine Too

I grew up in a Muslim family. In my neighborhood, among my relatives, and in my school, nearly everyone around me was Muslim. As a kid, Durga Puja was just the sound of drums drifting in from somewhere far off and photos of the goddess in the newspaper. I never got close enough to see it for myself.

That changed when I started college. My friend, Atanu was the first to invite me to the puja. I hesitated a little before walking into the pandal that first time. I had no idea what to do or where to stand. My friend just laughed and said, “You don’t have to do anything. Just come, look around, and eat.” Since then, through college and university, I’ve joined my friends for the puja several times. With Durga Puja 2026 just days away, this piece comes out of those memories.

Here you’ll find the dates for Bangladesh and India, the rituals of each day from Shashthi to Dashami, the food of the festival, and the story of the harmony I’ve seen as someone from a different faith.

When Is Durga Puja 2026: Dates for Bangladesh and India

Mahalaya fell on Saturday, October 10, this year. In Bangladesh, Maha Shashthi is on Friday, October 16. In West Bengal, the government holiday list puts Maha Shashthi one day later, on Saturday, October 17. The one-day gap comes from the two countries following different panjikas, the traditional Hindu almanacs. From Saptami to Dashami, both countries celebrate on the same days.

By Dhaka time, Sandhi Puja will take place on Monday, October 19, roughly from 10:58 to 11:46 in the morning. The timing may shift by a few minutes depending on the district.

The holidays are worth knowing too. In Bangladesh, Bijoya Dashami (October 21) is a public holiday. The government has also declared Navami (October 20) and Thursday, October 22 as holidays by executive order. Add the weekend, and that’s a five-day break from October 20 to 24. In West Bengal, government offices close from Chaturthi and stay closed through October 24.

This year, Bangladesh is holding Durga Puja at 33,851 mandaps across the country, about 1,500 more than last year.

Shashthi: The Goddess Awakens and the Festival Begins

Durga Puja 2026 formally begins on maha Shashthi. In the evening, the Bodhon is held under a bel (wood apple) tree. Bodhon means awakening the goddess. Then come the Amantran and Adhibas, the rituals of inviting and welcoming her. At many mandaps, the cover is lifted from the goddess’s face on this day. Mothers keep the Shashthi vrata, a fast for the health and happiness of their children. Many of them skip rice that day and eat only luchi or fruit.

In Bangladesh, the crowds start pouring into the mandaps on Shashthi evening. The Dhakeshwari National Temple, the Ramakrishna Mission, and the mandaps of Old Dhaka fill up fast.

In Kolkata, the crowds actually show up before Shashthi. People hit the streets from Chaturthi and Panchami to see the theme pandals. This year, the Kolkata Metro will run until 4 a.m. from October 17 to 20, so people can hop from pandal to pandal all night.

My first durga puja was on a Shashthi evening. Before we went in, my friend told me to take off my shoes. The first thing that hit me inside was the light. Thousands of bulbs, a pandal draped in colored cloth, and in the middle, the goddess with her ten arms. Beside her stood Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh, and Kartik. I stood quietly for a while, looking into the goddess’s eyes. My faith is different, but I couldn’t help being amazed by the craft of the artisans who made her.

Saptami: The Kola Bou Bath and the Start of the Main Puja

At dawn on Maha Saptami comes the Nabapatrika snan, the bathing of the nine plants. Nine plant saplings are tied together and dressed up around a banana plant, and this is called the Kola Bou, or “banana bride.” To the beat of the dhak, she is carried to a river or pond for her bath, then dressed in a sari with a red border and placed beside Ganesh. After that comes the Pran Pratishtha, when life is invoked into the idol, and the main puja begins.

In Kolkata, the Kola Bou is bathed in the ghats of the Ganges. At dawn, the riverbanks are crowded with drummer groups and priests, and it’s quite a sight.

In Bangladesh, the bath happens in a river, pond, or lake near the mandap. In villages, it’s an even bigger event. The whole neighborhood wakes up early and heads to the water.

The bhog, the food offered to the goddess and shared afterward, starts cooking at the mandaps from Saptami. The first time I smelled bhog khichuri was on a Saptami afternoon. Khichuri in huge pots, served with labra (a mixed vegetable dish), fried eggplant, tomato chutney, and payesh (rice pudding), all on banana leaves. Everyone has their own beliefs about prasad, the blessed food, and my friends never once pushed me. If anything, they kept checking that I felt comfortable. And the food at the fair outside the mandap is for everyone anyway: fuchka, chotpoti, jilapi, and muri murki.

Ashtami: Anjali, Kumari Puja, and Sandhi Puja

Maha Ashtami is the most important day of the puja. In the morning, everyone puts on new clothes and offers pushpanjali, flowers, to the goddess. Many people don’t eat anything until they’ve offered anjali. The priest recites the mantras, and everyone offers flowers three times.

Kumari Puja happens on this day. A young girl is worshipped as a form of the goddess. Every year, thousands of people come to see the Kumari Puja at the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka and at Belur Math near Kolkata.

At the exact moment Ashtami ends and Navami begins, Sandhi Puja is performed. During these 48 minutes, 108 lamps are lit and 108 lotus flowers are offered.

On Ashtami, most homes eat vegetarian. Luchi, cholar dal (Bengal gram lentils), aloo dum, pulao, and sweets to finish.

It was on an Ashtami evening that I first saw the dhunuchi dance. People dance to the beat of the dhak, holding clay pots of burning coconut husk and incense. The mandap goes hazy with smoke, and the drums shake your chest. One of my friends once put a dhunuchi in my hands. I couldn’t dance to save my life, everyone laughed, and I laughed too. That laughter is still the simplest definition of harmony I know.

Navami: The Last Night’s Crowds and the Smell of Meat

On Maha Navami, the homa, or fire ritual, is performed. Ghee and bel leaves are offered into the fire to bring the puja to a close. Navami is the last full day of the festival, so it’s the day people go out the most.

In Kolkata, Navami night means walking from pandal to pandal. The streets stay packed until dawn.

In Bangladesh, Navami is a government holiday this year, so the mandaps will be even more crowded. On this night, the narrow lanes of Shankhari Bazar and Tanti Bazar in Old Dhaka get so packed it’s hard to even walk.

For food, Navami is a little different. Many homes on both sides of Bengal cook meat on this day. Kosha mangsho, a slowly cooked, spicy meat curry with hot rice, is, for many people, the real taste of Navami. Sitting down for Navami lunch at my friend’s house, I realized that nobody at the dinner table asks about your religion. They only ask, “Can I give you a little more?”

Dashami: Sindoor Khela, Immersion, and the Bijoya Embrace

On Bijoya Dashami morning, the Darpan Bisarjan takes place. The goddess’s reflection is seen in a mirror as a way of saying goodbye. Then comes the Debi Boron, when married women feed the goddess sweets, apply sindoor (vermilion) to her, and bid her farewell. After that begins Sindoor Khela, when the women smear vermilion on each other’s foreheads and cheeks.

In the afternoon, with drums and songs, the idols are carried to the river for immersion. In Dhaka, that’s the banks of the Buriganga. In Kolkata, it’s the various ghats along the Ganges. This year, DJs and cranes are banned from immersion processions in Kolkata, and the carnival on Red Road that usually follows Dashami isn’t being held.

After the immersion, Bijoya begins. The young touch the feet of their elders, and friends hug each other. Every home has narkel naru (coconut sweets), nimki, ghugni, rosogolla, and sandesh. On one Bijoya, my friend’s mother handed me a bowl of naru and said, “You’re our son too.” I still remember those words.

Dashami evening always has a touch of sadness to it. The drummers play one last time, and everyone says, “She’ll come again next year.” I say it too.

Religion Is Personal; the Festival Belongs to Everyone

In Bangladesh, there’s a line you hear again and again during the puja: “Dhormo jar jar, utshob shobar.” Religion is personal, but the festival belongs to everyone. It sounds simple, but living up to it takes effort from both sides.

Those who celebrate keep their doors open. My friends never made me stand at a distance like a guest. And for those of us who visit, our job is to be respectful. A few things I’ve learned along the way:

• Take off your shoes before entering the main area of the mandap.
• Don’t touch the idol or any of the puja items.
• Don’t talk loudly or push through the crowd while the puja is going on.
• Ask before taking someone’s photo, especially during Anjali or Sindoor Khela.
• Whether you accept prasad is a matter of your own faith. If you say no politely, nobody takes offense.

In 2021, UNESCO added Durga Puja in Kolkata to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But for me, the festival’s real heritage isn’t on any list. It’s in my friend’s mother’s bowl of naru, in my failed dance with a dhunuchi in my hands, and in the faces of people from different religions standing side by side in the bhog line.

Final Thoughts

Durga Puja 2026 begins on October 16 in Bangladesh and October 17 in West Bengal. It ends on October 21, Bijoya Dashami, in both countries. If you have a Hindu friend, visit their home sometime during these days. Take a walk through a mandap. You don’t have to change your beliefs. You just have to keep an open heart.

I went to the puja as a Muslim, and I came back as a Muslim. In between, I found friends, memories, and one belief: when you can share in the joy of the people next to you, your society feels a little more like your own.

Shubho Sharodiya.