In India, too, festivals live from the basic gesture of imitation and retelling.

In Christian cultures, the Bible is their primary material, in India it is the diverse myths of the country.

Their stories are colourful, often wild, sometimes contradictory and therefore all the more exciting.

Durga Puja, the Bengalis' favorite five-day festival celebrated in Kolkata and wherever they may be in October, fits that description.

After being inscribed by Unesco on the list of Intangible World Heritage Sites at the end of 2021 and after the pandemic has lost its terror, there was every reason to turn it into a real carnival this year.

And as soon as one has recovered from the Durga Puja, the next big festival announces itself, the Kali Puja, the festival of the "black goddess", which fell on October 24th this year.

In Hinduism, the ritual sacrifice to a deity is generally called a "puja", whereby the offering can be slaughtered animals, food, flowers or fruit.

Each deity symbolizes a quality or "power".

The mother goddess Durga is worshiped as a fighter against evil who pierces a demon with her spear.

But she is more than a punishing avenger, because her ten arms symbolize universal power.

Kali, on the other hand, is ambiguous, mysterious.

On the one hand the personified evil, who is clothed with various symbols of her cruelty, on the other hand she is worshiped by her admirers only as the merciful, benevolent Kali.

The gifts of the idols

There is a graceful story about Durga.

Every year she, together with her children, descends from their common abode on the mythical Mount Kailash to the earthly dwellings of the devotees.

Their entrance is accompanied by deafening drum rolls.

As long as the puja lasts, Durga "dwells" in her statue.

Her children, namely Lakshmi, goddess of luck, Saraswati, goddess of learning, the elephant god Ganesh, god of wealth, and Kartik, the god of war, have also been erected around Durga with figures made of clay, from which they - so it is believed - Take mental possession.

People worship their gods according to precisely prescribed rules with Sanskrit litanies, fire sacrifices, fasting and chants.

Indians, otherwise so casual about time, meticulously adhere to the times given by the liturgical almanac for the various ritual activities.

On the fifth day it is time to say goodbye.

The gods are returning to their heavenly realms – the statues, now mere structures of mud, bring the people in procession to a river or pond, beating drums, and abandoning them to the water.

As a result, the earthly shell of the gods dissolves into nothing: as soon as they are in the water, boys pounce on the figures to save clothing, bracelets, necklaces and ornaments and sell them on the markets.

But this is only the ritual side of Durga Puja.

The social and sociable component spills over and threatens to take the traditionally religious events seriously.

Not unlike at Christmas in Christian countries, family members from near and far gather for the Durga festival.

The younger ones receive gifts, especially smart new clothes, the food is good, and nobody practices asceticism, even when it comes to sweets.

The music is turned up a notch again, and outside of the liturgy there are by no means only pious songs to the mother goddess, but rather popular songs and melodies from tearjerker films.

Bengalis celebrate Durga Puja in colorful tents, called “Pandals”, which are individually designed and richly decorated for the celebration.

The oriental tendency to display splendor is allowed to live out, as is the artistic imagination of the Bengalis.

The organizers have complete freedom in the arrangement of the figures and the material from which they are made.

There are figures made from fine bamboo or from the soft white pith of the reed, from small metal plates, from a wide variety of bold materials, handcrafted together.

Motifs and styles of popular folk art are often incorporated.

They are colorfully illuminated, true marvels, and accordingly, tens of thousands push and push past these pandals in amazement every day.

In the evening there are also electric light chains and light shows around the tableau of figures;

the more sophisticated, complex, the more “Oh!” and “Ah!” cries they produce from the crowd.