Kolkata and Bengal blog

Festivals, places, food and books from Kolkata and West Bengal, in Bengali and English, with the songs and stories to play on the same page.

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Face of a Durga idol at a South Kolkata pujo, with a white sholapith crown and marigold garlands

In season · Festivals

Pandal hopping without the crush: Saptami to Dashami 2026

Four days of Kolkata's Durga Puja remain after Saturday evening's crush at Chorbagan. Before you set out, here is when to go, how late the Metro runs, what to do if a crowd closes in and which numbers to keep on your phone.

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FestivalsMahalaya 2026: listen to Mahishasura Mardini by Birendra Krishna Bhadra, in Kolkata or abroad
BooksGhanada: who he is, and which of his stories to hear first
ListenManna Dey's Bengali songs: 14 to start with
ListenOld Bengali songs: 20 adhunik songs, and who made each one
ListenBengal's ghost stories, place by place: where each is set, and what to hear

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Books
Ghanada: who he is, and which of his stories to hear first
Premendra Mitra's Ghanada has told tall tales from a Kolkata mess since the Puja of 1945. Who he is, why his lies hold up, and the order we would play his three audio stories in.20 Oct 2026
Listen
Manna Dey's Bengali songs: 14 to start with
Fourteen of Manna Dey's Bengali songs, from Abar Habe To Dekha in 1964 to a Nazrul song in the 1979 Devdas, in year order, with who wrote and tuned each one where the label names them. Every one plays on this page.18 Oct 2026
Festivals
Pandal hopping without the crush: Saptami to Dashami 2026
Four days of Kolkata's Durga Puja remain after Saturday evening's crush at Chorbagan. Before you set out, here is when to go, how late the Metro runs, what to do if a crowd closes in and which numbers to keep on your phone.18 Oct 2026
Listen
Old Bengali songs: 20 adhunik songs, and who made each one
Twenty old Bengali adhunik songs, from Hemanta's Ei Meghla Dine Ekla to Kishore and Asha's Katha Dilam, grouped by the hour they suit, with the lyricist and composer of nearly every one. Every one plays on this page.17 Oct 2026
Listen
Bengal's ghost stories, place by place: where each is set, and what to hear
Dow Hill in Kurseong, the Sundarbans, Bishnupur, Begunkodar and a Sealdah local at eleven at night: the places Bengal's ghost stories are set, what is really there, and an audio story to play for each.16 Oct 2026
Festivals
Bengali films for Puja 2026: what opens in cinemas, and what is new on Hoichoi
Four Bengali films are dated for the Puja week in cinemas. Hoichoi's one new series, dated 2 October, is already streaming. Only what the booking site or the platform itself lists, and the one we would see first.15 Oct 2026

Just inNew stories from the channelsWhat the Bengali story channels have just put up, played from their own YouTube.

Festivals
Sindoor khela and Bijoya Dashami 2026: the boron, the game and the evening after
Sindoor khela is on Wednesday 21 October 2026. What happens at the boron, what the sindoor is believed to do, who is allowed to play and why that is argued over, and how a Bengali Dashami ends.14 Oct 2026
Listen
Pujo listening: stories for a lazy Saptami and an Ashtami adda
Eleven Bengali audio stories for the two moments of the Pujo when people actually sit down to listen, the Saptami afternoon after the morning's pandals and the Ashtami night after the late ones, and one for Dashami.13 Oct 2026
Festivals
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja 2026: the date, the night and how Bengal keeps it
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja falls on the night of Sunday 25 October 2026 in Kolkata. Here is why that night, what the name means, and what a Bengali home lays out for the goddess.12 Oct 2026
Festivals
Uma Agamani at Eden Gardens: 3,000 dhakis, a drone Durga and the start of Durga Puja 2026
On Mahalaya, Saturday 10 October 2026, the state opened this year's Durga Puja at Eden Gardens with about 3,000 dhakis, conch and ululation, a Durga drawn in drones, fireworks and music by Shantanu Moitra, Shaan and Dohar. What happened, and what comes next.11 Oct 2026
Festivals
Bonedi bari pujas of North Kolkata: the old family Durga Pujas and where they came from
What a bonedi bari puja is, how Shobhabazar's began in the year of Plassey, why a Rani at Janbazar used hers against the English, and how to see the old family pujas in 2026.11 Oct 2026
Travel
Sittong: the orange village near Kurseong, and when its oranges are ripe
When Sittong's oranges are actually ready, how the road from NJP climbs past Mungpoo to reach it, what October there is like, and what West Bengal's homestay rules ask of you and your host.10 Oct 2026

Kolkata and Bengal blog

Featured

All posts31

Ghanada: who he is, and which of his stories to hear first

Manna Dey's Bengali songs: 14 to start with

Pandal hopping without the crush: Saptami to Dashami 2026

Old Bengali songs: 20 adhunik songs, and who made each one

Bengal's ghost stories, place by place: where each is set, and what to hear

Bengali films for Puja 2026: what opens in cinemas, and what is new on Hoichoi

Sindoor khela and Bijoya Dashami 2026: the boron, the game and the evening after

Pujo listening: stories for a lazy Saptami and an Ashtami adda

Kojagari Lakshmi Puja 2026: the date, the night and how Bengal keeps it

Uma Agamani at Eden Gardens: 3,000 dhakis, a drone Durga and the start of Durga Puja 2026

Bonedi bari pujas of North Kolkata: the old family Durga Pujas and where they came from

Sittong: the orange village near Kurseong, and when its oranges are ripe