For Bengalis, Durga Puja is far more than a religious festival. It is a celebration that takes over entire cities. Streets come alive with elaborate pandals, intricate installations and works of art, turning Kolkata into a vast open-air exhibition. In 2021, UNESCO recognised the cultural significance of the festival by inscribing Kolkata’s Durga Puja on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

This year, I travelled to Kolkata and Guwahati to capture the creativity, colour and spectacle of the celebrations. While the pandals in Kolkata largely followed the city’s traditional artistic patterns, Guwahati offered something different: one installation drew attention to the devastating flash floods in Nepal and Assam.

In Guwahati’s Geetanagar, a Durga Puja pandal depicted the aftermath of the floods and the destruction they left behind. The installation attracted large crowds of devotees and visitors, many of whom offered prayers for those who lost their lives. Teachers also brought groups of students to the site to raise awareness about global warming, climate change and environmental conservation.

From Kolkata’s elaborate artistic displays to Guwahati’s poignant tribute to flood victims, the celebrations reflected the many ways in which Durga Puja brings together art, faith and social awareness.