📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / HridoyKundu
Religion
Kolkata Durga Puja Merges Tradition and Modern Artistry with 100 Distinct Styles
✍️ Bhaskar English
🗓 14 Oct 2026, 03:46 AM
👁 13
The annual Durga Puja in Kolkata this year features a blend of traditional rituals and contemporary artistic designs, presenting around 100 different puja styles across the city.
Kolkata’s Durga Puja this season is showcasing an unprecedented mix of age‑old customs and modern artistic expression. Organisers across the city have set up roughly one hundred distinct puja installations, each reflecting a unique visual theme while adhering to core religious rites.
The 100 puja styles range from classic pandals that echo traditional Bengal craftsmanship to avant‑garde designs that incorporate contemporary materials, lighting and digital art. This deliberate juxtaposition aims to attract both devout worshippers and art enthusiasts, offering a fresh perspective on the centuries‑old festival.
City officials and cultural bodies have welcomed the initiative, noting that the expanded artistic scope is drawing larger crowds and boosting local tourism. While the core worship of Goddess Durga remains unchanged, the added visual diversity is being praised as a vibrant evolution of the celebration.
The 100 puja styles range from classic pandals that echo traditional Bengal craftsmanship to avant‑garde designs that incorporate contemporary materials, lighting and digital art. This deliberate juxtaposition aims to attract both devout worshippers and art enthusiasts, offering a fresh perspective on the centuries‑old festival.
City officials and cultural bodies have welcomed the initiative, noting that the expanded artistic scope is drawing larger crowds and boosting local tourism. While the core worship of Goddess Durga remains unchanged, the added visual diversity is being praised as a vibrant evolution of the celebration.