Durga Puja

Durga Puja is the biggest 

festival of India and also 

all over the world.

Mahalaya is over but the excitement round the Durga Puja festivities remains missing in Kolkata. The 35-day gap between Mahalaya and Shashthi, and therefore the COVID-19 pandemic are the 2 main reasons for this. All festivals in India - from Ganesh Chaturthi to Onam - had to be scaled down thanks to the raging pandemic. On Mahalaya, few people were seen at malls and other markets within the Bengal capital, buying Durga Puja. The celebration without new clothes is unimaginable in West Bengal . Traditionally new clothes are a requirement on Shashthi and Ashtami when anjali or special offerings are made to the Goddess Durga. Durga Puja in Kolkata

Durga Puja 2020: The 35-day gap between Mahalaya and Shashthi explained below:

The 35-day gap between Mahalaya and Shashthi is attributed to a phenomenon called the mala mash or an 'unholy month' when auspicious rituals are avoided, consistent with scriptures. A mala mash may be a month, which has two new moons or Amavasyas. BAGHBAZAR SARBOJONIN DURGOTSAB AND EXHIBITION

The two schools of almanacs popularly followed by Hindus, referred to as the Bisuddha Siddhanta (lunar calendar) and Surya Siddhanta (solar calendar) are in agreement over this year's Durga Puja schedule. Durga Puja normally happens within the month of Ashwin but now it'll happen within the next month, that is, Kartik. Ashwin may be a mala mash thanks to two new moons. the primary day of Ashwin corresponds to Citizenship Day , which may be a new phase of the moon and therefore the other are going to be on the October 16, the 29th day of Ashwin, within the Hindu calendar .

Durga Puja 2020: Days and dates

• Panchami: October 21
• Shashthi: October 22
• Saptami: October 23
• Ashtami: United Nations Day
• Navami: October 25
• Vijaya Dashami: October 26 - the Judgment Day of Navratri culminating in Dussehra.

Kolkata's Kumartuli, the hub where idols of Goddess Durga are made, features a deserted look this year. Idol makers say, the orders are few and most puja organisers are posing for smaller idols. Business is badly hampered as costs of raw materials have shot up, say the artists. FESTIVALS