In Photos: Poetry, Coal Mines And Calendars Inspire Durga Puja Pandals
Bengali verse, coal mines and Kerala’s Onam celebrations find a place in this year’s Durga Puja pandals. From Sukumar Ray’s Abol Tabol and the traditional Panjika almanac in Kolkata to literary installations in Jaipur and festive decorations in Ranchi, organisers are drawing on literature, livelihoods and regional traditions.
People at a lotus-themed community pandal, during the 'Durga Puja' festival, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra
People at a community pandal themed on various Bengali celebrations throughout the year on 'Maha Sasthi' during the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Photo: PTI
People visit the Thakurpukur SB Park Sarbojanin Durga Puja 'pandal' themed on coal mines on the fifth day of the festival, in Kolkata, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. | Photo: PTI
A Durga Puja pandal based on the theme of 'Abol Tabol', a collection of rhyming poems by poet Sukumar Ray, in Kolkata, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. | Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra
Artists perform in front of a community Durga Puja pandal themed on the traditional annual almanac (Panjika) ahead of the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. | Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra
A Durga Puja pandal based on the theme of 'Abol Tabol', a collection of rhyming poems by poet Sukumar Ray, in Kolkata, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. | Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra
Workers adorn a ‘pandal’, themed on ‘Onam festival’, ahead of the ‘Durga Puja’, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. | Photo: PTI
A worker prepares a community Durga Puja pandal themed on 'Vande Mataram' ahead of the festival, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. | Photo: PTI/Swapan Mahapatra
Artisans install a 'Charkha' at a Durga Puja pandal themed on India's independence movement, in Nadia, West Bengal, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. | Photo: PTI
Workers prepare the ‘Durga Puja’ pandal, themed as “Tribals of the African Union” ahead of the festival, in Ranchi, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. | Photo: PTI
Workers assemble a Durga Puja pandal, themed as “The Illusion of Machines”, ahead of the festival, in Nagaon district, Assam, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. | Photo: PTI
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