In Pictures: Behold the exciting conception of the Goddess Durga at this year's

The human spirit's contemplation--and expression--of the divine takes an inventive leap in the construction of Goddess Durga at the puja pandals every season. A reason why Durga Puja in Kolkata was in

Oct 16, 2024, 17:20 IST2 min

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A vivid Durga with a fierce pagan vibe is set against Picasso"s Cubist-style black-and-white figures at a pandal during the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata on October 6, 2024.

Image by Sudipta Das/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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A Durga altar inside a "Lajja" (shame) themed pandal depicts the outrage over the recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, October 11, 2024.

Image by Sahiba Chawdhary/ Reuters

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Commemorating womanhood, a puja pandal"s deity is enclosed by finely drawn panels of famous Indian women in Kolkata on October 2, 2024.

Image by Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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A green-themed pandal decorated with natural plants depicts Durga as Mother Nature herself in Kolkata on October 5, 2024.

Image by Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP

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A dramatic beam of light highlights Durga in a circular mount, a cinematic rendering in monochrome that wows worshippers at a pandal in Kolkata, October 10, 2024.

Image by Avishek Das/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty

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A Kolkata artist depicts Durga"s open-palmed vision of women"s freedom from repression at the Arambagh puja pandal in New Delhi on October 07, 2024.

Image by Sonu Mehta/HT via Getty Images

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An eerie underwater blue submerges devotees at a puja pandal themed "under the sea" in Nagaon, Assam, India, on October 10, 2024.

Image by Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Devotees worship Durga at an altar inside an Indian Constitution-themed pandal in Kolkata, October 11, 2024.

Image by Sahiba Chawdhary / Reuters

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A village woman and her children form the tableau holding the deity Durga in her hands at a woven bamboo mat pandal in Siliguri on October 9, 2024.

Image by S Majumder/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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The Goddess looks over exquisitely crafted figures engaged in a battle depicting the triumph of good over evil at a pandal in Kolkata on October 7, 2024.

Image by Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images