Mahalaya: Bengal offers tarpan at Hooghly ghats as Durga Puja countdown begins

Thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Hooghly river and at other rivers and ponds across West Bengal at dawn on Saturday, October 10, 2026, to offer tarpan, prayers and water to their ancestors, on Mahalaya. The day marks the end of Pitru Paksha, the fortnight devoted to ancestors, and is seen in Bengal as the start of the countdown to Durga Puja. As every year, many households woke before sunrise to hear the Mahishasuramardini recitation on radio, and the state government planned a cultural programme at Eden Gardens in Kolkata to mark the day, according to reports from the city.

Mahalaya joins two ideas that sit at the heart of Bengali Hindu tradition: remembering those who came before, and welcoming the goddess. Tarpan is offered by standing in water and pouring handfuls of water while remembering ancestors by name. For many families it is a once-a-year link to grandparents and great-grandparents, and it is often the one morning when generations stand together at the river.

The same day carries a festive meaning. In Bengali tradition, Mahalaya is when Durga is invoked to begin her journey to earth, which is why it is treated as the opening of the Puja season. The radio programme Mahishasuramardini, a blend of Sanskrit chants, Bengali narration and devotional songs telling the story of the goddess's battle with the demon Mahishasura, has been part of this morning for generations. Hearing it before dawn is, for many families, as much a ritual as the tarpan itself.

Mahalaya also has a practical side for the city. It sets the final week of preparation in motion: pandals hurry towards completion, and in Kumartuli, the potters' quarter of north Kolkata, artisans traditionally paint the eyes of the Durga idols on this day, a ritual known as chokkhu daan.

For readers outside Bengal, the same new moon is observed in many parts of India as Sarva Pitru Amavasya, the main day for ancestral rites, and the following day begins Navratri, the nine nights of the goddess.

Short-term: Crowds at ghats and an early start to festive shopping and pandal-hopping, with the main Durga Puja days a week away.

Long-term: Rituals such as tarpan and the Mahishasuramardini broadcast keep family memory and shared culture alive across generations, including for Bengalis living far from the state.

Who is affected: Families observing ancestral rites, Durga Puja committees and artisans, Kolkata's civic and police services managing crowds, and visitors planning to see the Puja.

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