Aura of India: Bijoya Dashami 2026: Durga Immersion on the Hooghly in Kolkata

A boatman on the Hooghly in Kolkata, with the ghats of Howrah behind

Photo: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

A ghat on the Hooghly in north Kolkata, on the last day of Durga Puja.

Five days of welcome end with a goodbye at the river.

Boats on the river

From the afternoon, the ghats of north Kolkata fill with drums. Lorries arrive one after another, each carrying a Durga image from a neighbourhood pandal, with the family or the club riding beside her. At the water’s edge the image is lifted down and carried into the river on many shoulders. Some old family pujas, like the one at Shobhabazar Rajbari, still take the goddess out on two boats and lower her into the river between them.

Sindoor and sweets

The day starts earlier, at the pandals. Married women offer the goddess sweets and paan in a farewell called boron, then smear red sindoor, vermilion, on her forehead and on each other’s faces. This is sindoor khela. When the image leaves, people call after her: Asche bochhor abar hobe, it will happen again next year. In the evening, families visit each other, touch the feet of their elders and share sweets. This is Bijoya.

Why the river

For Bengalis, Durga comes home each autumn to her parents with her four children, and the immersion is her return to her husband, Shiva, in the mountains. The clay of the image goes back to the river it came from. In 2026 Bijoya Dashami falls on Wednesday 21 October. Some immersions continue for a day or two after, and regional calendars can shift a date by a day.

Where to watch

The main ghats line Strand Road, from Baghbazar and Ahiritola in the north down to Nimtala and Babughat. Baghbazar is the most crowded. Go by metro to Shobhabazar or Girish Park and walk west to the river. Police close many roads near the ghats from the afternoon, so allow time.

The last day, hour by hour

Dashami begins quietly in the pandal. After the morning puja, the priest holds a mirror over a bowl of water so that the goddess is reflected in it, and the reflection is immersed first. This is darpan bisarjan. From then on, the image in the pandal is a guest about to leave.

Boron and sindoor khela follow, usually from late morning into the afternoon. The drummers, dhakis, play through it. When the club or family is ready, the image is lifted onto a lorry and the procession sets off for the river, often with the youngest members of the neighbourhood dancing in front.

After dark the mood turns to visiting. People touch the feet of their elders, embrace friends three times, and say Shubho Bijoya. Plates of homemade coconut sweets, nimki and sandesh go round for days.

What is different in 2026

The state government has banned cranes at the immersion ghats this year. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is trying conveyor belts and trolleys instead, with Babughat, Baje Kadamtala Ghat and Baghbazar among the ghats being watched. DJ sound systems are also banned in puja and immersion processions, so expect the dhak rather than loudspeakers.

Kolkata Police restrictions on goods vehicles run from 20 to 24 October, because immersions are spread over several days. From 3 pm on immersion days, more than 50 roads are diverted, including Strand Road, Nimtala Ghat Street, Beadon Street and Baghbazar Street, and Strand Road runs one way, north to south. The Red Road carnival, which used to parade award-winning images after the festival, is not being held this year. For the nights before, see Ashtami among the pandals.

Before you go

Keep to the side of the ghat steps. The bearers need the middle.
Wear clothes you do not mind marking with red sindoor.
Ask before you photograph sindoor khela. It is a family moment.
Leave the ghats before dark, when the crowds are at their thickest.

By the next morning the bamboo frames have been hauled out of the water. The river is wide and brown again, and the city goes back to work.

Plan your visit

2026 dates	Bijoya Dashami is Wednesday 21 October. Immersions continue for a few days after, and Lakshmi Puja immersions follow on 26 and 27 October. Regional calendars can shift a date by a day.
Where to see it	The ghats along Strand Road in north Kolkata: Baghbazar, Ahiritola, Nimtala and, further south, Babughat. Baghbazar is the largest and most crowded. Morning sindoor khela happens in the pandals of every neighbourhood.
What to wear and bring	Old clothes you do not mind marking with red sindoor, closed shoes for wet ghat steps, water, and a little cash. Keep your phone in a front pocket.
Getting there and around	Metro to Shobhabazar Sutanuti or Girish Park, then walk west to the river. Roads near the ghats are diverted from 3 pm, so go early and expect to walk.
Rules this year	No cranes at the ghats, no DJ music in processions. Follow police barriers at the water's edge; only bearers go into the river.

Open Baghbazar Ghat, Kolkata, West Bengal in Google Maps

Questions people ask

When is Bijoya Dashami in 2026?

Wednesday 21 October in Bengal. North India keeps Dussehra a day earlier, on 20 October, because the Dashami lunar day begins around midday on the 20th.

Can visitors join sindoor khela?

It is traditionally for married women, and many community pujas welcome women visitors who are invited in. Ask the organisers or the family first, and ask again before taking photographs.

Which ghat is best for watching the immersion?

Baghbazar sees the most images and the biggest crowds. The smaller ghats along Strand Road are easier to stand at. Arrive in the afternoon, before the roads close, and leave before the late-evening crush.

Are cranes used at the immersion in 2026?

No. Cranes are banned at the immersion ghats this year, and the city is using conveyor belts and trolleys where the ghats have room for them.

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Bijoya Dashami 2026: Durga Immersion on the Hooghly in Kolkata