By Manisha Sahu, America News World
October 1 , 2025
New Delhi/Kolkata/Bengaluru – As Navratri and Durga Puja 2025 sweep across India, the festival of devotion and grandeur has once again evolved into a canvas for imagination, cultural expression, and social commentary. What began as temporary worship spaces has transformed into a multi-city phenomenon where pandals – elaborately designed marquees housing Goddess Durga – have become stages for art, memory, technology, and even political reflection. This year, from AI-inspired marvels in Kolkata to heritage recreations in Delhi, eco-conscious designs in Bengaluru, and playful board game motifs in Nagpur, India’s pandals are redefining the festival spirit.
History relating pandal:- https://youtube.com/shorts/9T9kaCglj2g?si=X6l9F6L6NIwCsPSm
Delhi: A Heritage Revival
In the heart of the capital, the Bengali community of Chittaranjan Park (CR Park) continues to nurture the Puja’s cultural spirit through storytelling pandals. The Cooperative Durga Puja in K Block, marking its 50th year, has recreated Jaisalmer’s 12th-century fortress with nods to filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella. B Block celebrates Mother Earth, while Mela Ground draws inspiration from Mahishadal Rajbari, a historic royal palace in West Bengal’s Midnapore district.
Themes of nostalgia also emerge. Navapalli explores “the lost glory of Bengali weddings,” blending memory with architectural grandeur. Meanwhile, classic institutions such as Kali Bari, Kashmere Gate, and Minto Road continue to uphold the tradition of devotional chants, bhog (community meals), and classical performances. In Delhi, Durga Puja isn’t just about worship – it is about reclaiming identity, memory, and cultural belonging in a cosmopolitan setting.
Kolkata: The Capital of Creativity
No city pushes the limits of pandal design quite like Kolkata. Here, pandals are not merely decorative spaces but immersive art installations with strong undercurrents of commentary.
At Santosh Mitra Square, the theme Operation Sindoor recreates the Pahalgam terror attack using soundscapes, light projections, and staged performances – blending current affairs with religious expression. Samaj Sebi Sangha takes inspiration from Pather Panchali 1946, evoking memories of communal violence and urging solidarity through remembrance.
Equally striking are Kolkata’s futuristic experiments: AI-themed pandals featuring life-sized robots, glowing keyboards, and interactive digital installations. Some even dress Goddess Durga in robotic armour, merging tradition with artificial intelligence.
Other pandals reflect linguistic and cultural pride. Chaltabagan Sarbojanin’s “Ami Banglai Bolchi” speaks of Bengali identity, while Chetla Agrani invokes the mythic Samudra Manthan with a dramatic Shiva-Linga centerpiece. Behala Notun Dal fuses Shiva and Durga traditions by recreating Shibani Dham, while Lalabagan Nabankur embraces aquatic aesthetics, complete with live fish tanks.
Kolkata’s pandals this year reaffirm that Durga Puja is not just a festival, but a cultural movement – part art biennale, part political theatre, and part spiritual journey.
Bengaluru: Tech Meets Tradition
In Bengaluru, the city of startups and IT, pandals are infusing local traditions with innovation and sustainability. North Bengaluru’s pandal links mythology with the game of chess, symbolizing the 64 forms of Shakti across the chessboard’s 64 squares.
Whitefield’s community Puja incorporates 3D projections and augmented reality, bringing the nine avatars of Goddess Durga (Navadurga) to life through technology. Societies like BARSHA are experimenting with Chitragana, fusing Bengal’s Chhau and Patachitra arts with Karnataka’s Yakshagana and Dollu Kunitha, creating an East-meets-South cultural dialogue.
Themes of women empowerment shine bright – from all-women priest teams to pandals dedicated to Naari Shakti. Many structures also emphasize sustainability, avoiding plastic and showcasing eco-friendly designs. Bengaluru’s Puja demonstrates that tradition can be preserved, even enhanced, through modernity.
Beyond the Metros: Small Cities, Big Ideas
Across smaller cities, Durga Puja is equally inventive, offering local flavours alongside pan-Indian creativity.
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh): Sector-6 Kali Bari has gone green with an eco-conscious theme using artificial trees and sustainable substitutes. A massive food festival brings hundreds of traditional dishes under one roof.
Nagpur: Nabanna Manish Nagar’s pandal adopts childhood board games as its theme – giant Ludo boards, dice, and Snakes & Ladders pieces evoke life’s journeys and choices through playful symbolism.
Lucknow: Pandals here recreate the ambience of rural Bengal, with bamboo huts, alpona (floor art), terracotta décor, and Santhal tribal Pattachitra. Urban audiences are transported into village Bengal, reconnecting with grassroots traditions.
Mumbai suburbs: From Thakur Village to Chembur and Vashi, the city’s “mini-Bengal” comes alive. Pandemic-era restrictions are long gone, replaced by cultural programs, bhog, and elaborate themes that merge Bengal’s artistry with Mumbai’s cosmopolitan energy.
Open link to see the beauty of Indian culture :- https://youtu.be/B7X2ZDyW8Yw?si=NhE0Ma9hgDr_QUDE (video credit goes to #TheIndianExpress
A Festival Beyond Borders
This year’s pandals across India highlight an important truth: Durga Puja is no longer confined to ritual worship. It has become a cultural dialogue where myth meets modernity, heritage mingles with innovation, and devotion interweaves with social consciousness.
For visitors, whether they are drawn to the robotic goddesses of Kolkata, the fortress-themed artistry of Delhi, the digital immersion of Bengaluru, or the nostalgia of Lucknow’s rural recreations, each pandal offers more than a spectacle – it offers a story.
Durga Puja 2025 shows that India’s festivals, while rooted in tradition, continue to adapt, absorb, and resonate with contemporary times. From AI to Alpona, the creativity of India’s pandals ensures that the Goddess arrives every year not just in idols, but in imagination itself.