Durga Puja 2026: Your guide to Chennai’s pandals, food and festivities
This article provides a guide to Durga Puja celebrations in Chennai, highlighting the cultural significance for the Bengali community. It details traditional rituals, food, and community events hosted by the Bengal Association.
Why it matters
It showcases how cultural traditions are preserved and celebrated by diaspora communities in urban settings.
In a city where the nine nights of Navratri are marked by golu dolls, Durga Puja brings a different kind of celebration to the pandals, with the sound of conch shells, the beat of dhaak, sindoor and the aroma of freshly prepared khichuri. For Bengalis living in Chennai and elsewhere away from home, the festival is an emotion that brings a piece of Bengal to them.
From the sight of kash phool swaying in the autumn breeze and the sound of the dhaak to the steaming plates of basonti polao, crispy beguni, kathi rolls, and Kolkata biriyani, every little detail brings Bengal closer to home. Add mishti doi, adda with friends and the excitement of dressing up in new clothes for the four days, too. From Saptami to Dashami (October 18 to 21), the celebrations bring together rituals, food and festivities.
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