Few festivals reveal India’s cultural diversity as vividly as Durga Puja. The Divine Mother is worshipped through quiet prayers in one region, magnificent public celebrations in another, and traditions of music, dance and community gatherings elsewhere. The rituals, customs and even the names of the celebrations may differ, yet at their heart lies a shared reverence for the divine feminine, symbolising strength, protection and the triumph of righteousness. Understanding how these traditions developed across India also reveals how each region came to celebrate the goddess through its own distinctive cuisine.
Durga Puja commemorates the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura, the powerful buffalo demon who threatened the cosmic order. According to Hindu tradition, the gods combined their divine energies to create Durga, who confronted and ultimately defeated him. This victory is recounted in the Devi Mahatmya, a sacred text within the Markandeya Purana, which became central to the worship of the goddess. The festival celebrates not merely the defeat of evil but the power of courage, wisdom and collective strength in restoring harmony.
The origins of goddess worship in India extend far beyond the modern form of Durga Puja. Ancient traditions honoured female divinities associated with fertility, protection, prosperity and the forces of nature. Over centuries, these beliefs developed through Shakta traditions, which recognise Shakti as the divine feminine energy sustaining the universe. Regional customs gradually shaped different expressions of her worship. The festival did not simply travel from one part of India to another in a fixed sequence. Rather, distinct communities developed their own ways of celebrating the goddess, drawing upon shared religious narratives and local cultural practices.
In northern India, the autumn worship of Durga is closely associated with Sharad Navratri, the nine-night celebration dedicated to her various manifestations. Devotees observe fasting, recite prayers and perform rituals honouring the goddess. Ashtami and Navami hold particular importance, especially through Kanya Pujan, when young girls are worshipped as embodiments of divine feminine power and offered food and gifts. The celebrations culminate in Vijayadashami, also associated in northern India with Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana. Through these interconnected traditions, the festival brings together the ideals of devotion, moral courage and the triumph of righteousness.
Eastern India developed one of the most elaborate expressions of Durga worship. In Bengal, the goddess is not only the destroyer of Mahishasura but also a beloved daughter returning to her parental home with her children. This understanding gives Durga Puja an emotional character rooted in family reunion and hospitality. Although the worship of Durga has a much longer history in the region, grand autumn celebrations became increasingly prominent under royal and zamindari patronage. Over time, household ceremonies evolved alongside community-organised celebrations. The rise of barowari and subsequently sarbojanin Durga Puja helped transform the festival into a major public occasion, bringing together art, music, craftsmanship and collective worship.
Today, Bengal’s magnificent pandals, intricately crafted images and traditional dhak drums are among the festival’s most recognisable features. Odisha, Assam and Tripura also celebrate Durga Puja through temple rituals, public worship and household traditions shaped by their distinct cultural histories. Across eastern India, the festival represents both religious devotion and a powerful expression of community identity.
Western India offers another dimension. In Gujarat, Navratri is closely associated with the worship of Amba Mata and the tradition of garba, whose circular movements symbolise the continuity of life around the divine presence. In Maharashtra, the goddess is honoured through Navratri rituals and longstanding traditions associated with revered forms such as Tulja Bhavani and Mahalaxmi. Household offerings, temple visits and community celebrations reflect the region’s deep-rooted devotion to Shakti.
In southern India, the autumn festival brings together several traditions of goddess worship. Tamil Nadu’s Navratri golu features carefully arranged dolls and sacred figures, with families visiting one another and exchanging offerings. Karnataka’s Mysuru Dasara developed under the patronage of the Wadiyar rulers and remains associated with the worship of Chamundeshwari, the goddess revered for defeating Mahishasura. Kerala observes Durga worship alongside Saraswati Puja and Vidyarambham, when children are introduced to learning. In the Telugu-speaking regions, the worship of the goddess takes distinctive forms, including Telangana’s Bathukamma celebrations, centred on beautifully arranged seasonal flowers.
In 2026, the concluding celebrations fall between 18 and 21 October, with Maha Ashtami widely observed on 19 October and the exact timing of Maha Navami and Vijayadashami differing across regional calendars. Although the rituals vary, these celebrations are united by an enduring belief in the strength and protective power of the goddess.
The regional diversity of Durga worship is perhaps most vividly expressed through food. What is offered in devotion, prepared for guests or shared with the community depends upon local ingredients, inherited recipes and the customs of individual households. In some regions, the emphasis is on fasting and vegetarian offerings. Elsewhere, elaborate meals, including fish and meat, form part of the festive experience. Together, these traditions create a remarkable culinary landscape.
In northern India, Kanya Pujan is inseparable from the familiar offering of kale chane, sooji halwa and puri. Black chickpeas are soaked overnight, boiled and seasoned with ginger, cumin and spices. Semolina is roasted in ghee until fragrant, then cooked with sugar and water to produce halwa, while freshly rolled puris are fried until golden. The meal is first served to young girls as an expression of reverence for the goddess before being shared among family members.
Other regional festive preparations add variety beyond this customary combination. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, bedmi puri, made using spiced ground lentils incorporated into dough, is enjoyed with kaddu ki sabzi, a pumpkin preparation balancing sweetness, tanginess and warm spices. Himachal Pradesh contributes madra, in which chickpeas or other legumes are simmered in a yoghurt-based gravy enriched with ghee and aromatic spices. A speciality of Himachali festive feasts, it reflects the region’s tradition of communal dining, although it is not an obligatory Durga Puja offering.
Eastern India presents a particularly elaborate culinary repertoire, beginning with Bengal’s tradition of community bhog, food offered to the goddess before distribution among devotees. Its centrepiece is bhoger khichuri, prepared with fragrant Gobindobhog rice and roasted moong dal, cooked with ginger, ghee and whole spices. The roasting imparts a nutty flavour, while the rice creates a distinctive soft texture. Its traditional companion, labra, combines seasonal vegetables such as pumpkin, brinjal, radish and potatoes, cooked together until their flavours mingle.
The accompanying dishes introduce contrasting textures. Beguni consists of thin slices of brinjal dipped in gram-flour batter and fried until crisp. Mochar ghonto, prepared from banana blossom, requires careful cleaning of the florets before they are cooked with potatoes, coconut and spices. Dhokar dalna transforms soaked Bengal gram into a paste that is cooked, set, cut into pieces and fried before being simmered in gravy. Chhanar dalna, made with fresh cottage cheese in an aromatic gravy, is another popular festive preparation. These dishes demonstrate the ingenuity with which Bengali kitchens transform familiar ingredients into distinctive celebratory meals.
Beyond customary vegetarian community offerings, Durga Puja also brings elaborate household feasts. Kosha mangsho, mutton slowly cooked with yoghurt, onions and spices until the gravy becomes dark and concentrated, is frequently paired with luchi, soft, puffed breads made from refined flour. Shorshe ilish, hilsa prepared with mustard paste, green chillies and mustard oil, celebrates Bengal’s appreciation for strong yet balanced flavours. Chingri malai curry, prawns simmered in coconut milk and fragrant spices, is another cherished festive dish. These preparations belong primarily to household celebrations, although some Shakta traditions also maintain non-vegetarian ritual offerings. Bengal’s festive sweets are equally significant. Payesh, made by slowly cooking fragrant rice in sweetened milk, is associated with auspicious occasions and family celebrations. Narkel naru combines grated coconut with jaggery or sugar, stirred over gentle heat before being shaped into small balls. During Bijoya Dashami, families exchange sandesh, prepared from sweetened fresh chhana, and mishti doi, sweetened yoghurt traditionally set in earthen pots. These sweets become expressions of affection as families exchange greetings and blessings following the goddess’s departure.
Neighbouring Odisha contributes its distinctive tradition of pitha, or traditional cakes. Manda pitha, steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery, offers a soft covering around a fragrant sweet centre. Kakara pitha is prepared using semolina or wheat-based dough, often filled with sweetened coconut and fried until golden. Chhena poda, Odisha’s celebrated baked cottage-cheese sweet, develops a caramelised surface while retaining a soft interior. These belong to the state’s wider festive repertoire rather than a universal Durga Puja menu.
In Assam, festive households may prepare payox, rice slowly cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar or jaggery, and narikol laru, grated coconut cooked with sweetener and rolled into small portions. Tripura’s Bengali households maintain traditions of fish preparations and festive sweets, including ilish macher paturi, mustard-coated fish wrapped in banana leaves and gently steamed or cooked. Together, these preparations demonstrate how eastern India’s diverse food cultures shape the celebration.
Moving westward, Maharashtra’s festive kitchens offer preparations such as puran poli, a sweet flatbread filled with cooked Bengal gram, jaggery and cardamom. The filling is carefully enclosed in soft dough, rolled thin and cooked with ghee. Gharge, sweet pumpkin-based fritters prepared with jaggery and flour, and kadakani, crisp sweetened wheat-flour discs, also belong to the state’s wider festive culinary traditions.
In Gujarat, the worship of Amba Mata accompanies household offerings and community celebrations. Sukhdi, made by roasting wheat flour in ghee before combining it with jaggery, is a traditional sweet that may be prepared for auspicious occasions. Lapsi, broken wheat slowly cooked with ghee and sweetener, provides another example of the region’s grain-based festive cuisine. Unlike the rice-dominated preparations of eastern India, these dishes reflect the importance of wheat in western India’s culinary traditions.
Southern India completes this journey with offerings shaped by rice, pulses, coconut and jaggery. Tamil Nadu’s Navratri celebrations are particularly associated with sundal, seasoned legumes distributed as prasad during household visits. Kondakadalai sundal uses cooked chickpeas tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and coconut. Karamani sundal, made from cowpeas, offers a different texture, while thengai maangai pattani sundal combines peas with coconut and raw mango, producing a refreshing balance of savoury and tangy flavours.
Sweet offerings include sakkarai pongal, prepared by cooking rice and moong dal with jaggery, ghee and cardamom, often finished with cashews and raisins. Nei appam, small fritters made from rice and jaggery batter, develops a golden exterior when cooked in ghee or oil. Karnataka contributes obbattu, also known as holige, a delicate flatbread filled with sweetened lentils or coconut and cooked on a griddle. In Kerala, nei payasam, a rich rice pudding prepared with jaggery and ghee, and unniyappam, small sweet fritters made with rice, jaggery and often banana, feature in wider temple and festive culinary traditions.
The Telugu-speaking regions add preparations such as guggillu, cooked chickpeas or other legumes tempered with mustard seeds, chillies and curry leaves, and atukula bellam, flattened rice mixed with jaggery and sometimes coconut. These simple offerings reflect the importance of ingredients that can be prepared, shared and distributed easily during religious gatherings.
Beverages also contribute to festive hospitality. In Bengal, ghol, a diluted yoghurt drink, and lebu cha, black tea with lemon, accompany family gatherings. Assam’s lal saah, or milkless black tea, reflects its tea culture. Southern households may serve neer mor, buttermilk seasoned with ginger and curry leaves, while panakam, made from jaggery, ginger and cardamom, belongs to the wider tradition of religious refreshments. Although not all are specific Durga Puja offerings, they complete the experience of welcoming visitors during the celebrations.
What makes this culinary heritage remarkable is not simply the number of preparations but the knowledge contained within them. From roasting lentils for Bengali bhog to cleaning banana blossoms, shaping coconut sweets or rolling a delicate puran poli, every recipe requires skills refined through generations. The diversity of these traditions demonstrates how different communities have preserved their own culinary identities while participating in a shared celebration of the goddess.
As the festivities conclude, the pandals will be dismantled, the music will fade and families will return to their routines. Yet the culinary traditions of Durga Puja need not disappear with the celebrations. Preserving them requires more than remembering their names or enjoying them once a year. Younger generations must be encouraged to participate in their preparation, understand their significance and learn the techniques that give each region’s cuisine its distinctive character. What we prepare today honours our traditions. What we teach the next generation determines whether those traditions will survive.
The writer is Secretary, Cuisine India Society; Views presented are personal.