Durga Puja 2025: Diaspora, Rituals, Culinary Revival

Maha Panchami marked the informal start of the Durga Puja/Navratri season, with preparations underway across Bengal, Bangladesh, India and the global Bengali diaspora as devotees flock to temples and ritual sites. Artisans in Old Dhaka and Kumartuli are shaping idols while Kolkata committees unveil intricately themed pandals honoring the Bengali language and literary icons. Home cooks, cloud kitchens and restaurants are reviving long‑forgotten Bengali recipes—panta bhaat, murighonto and kulothokolai mangsho—and offering inventive fusion menus, while the Mool Bhog thali (khichuri, labra, luchi, payesh and bhaja) remains central to ritual offerings. Diaspora communities are adjusting Puja dates for convenience—some advancing celebrations to weekends, others postponing events (for example Dublin’s Sujan’s Puja and some US groups)—and organisations such as Gharoaa in the US are marking anniversaries and commissioning idols from Kumartuli. In India, longstanding enclaves like Delhi’s CR Park and Indore’s Navlakha Bengali Club mark multi‑decadal traditions, while newer pandals in cities such as Bengaluru emphasize heritage, women’s empowerment and sustainability through clay idols and biodegradable décor. A study by IIT‑Roorkee and partners found many ancient temple sites were sited in ecologically productive zones, suggesting historical planning could inform modern sustainability and renewable‑energy goals.