Durga Puja and Bengali Books: A Reading Guide for the Festive Season
By KOK Books · Published · 6 min read
For Bengalis, Durga Puja is not only pandals, dhaak and new clothes. It is also the time of year when new writing arrives, when families buy books as gifts, and when a long holiday finally leaves room to read. This guide explains the tradition and helps you pick what to read and gift.
Key points
- Durga Puja is the biggest season for new Bengali writing, led by the festive annuals called Pujabarshiki or Sharadiya Sankhya.
- "Durga Puja in Kolkata" was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2021.
- Books are a traditional Puja gift: classics for elders, detective and adventure series for young readers, picture books for children.
- You can order Bengali and English books from KOK Books with delivery across India, so a Puja gift can reach family outside Bengal.
Why Durga Puja is a reading season
Durga Puja falls in the Bengali month of Ashwin, usually September or October, and marks the homecoming of the goddess Durga. Schools, colleges and many offices close for several days, and for generations that holiday has been tied to reading. In December 2021 UNESCO inscribed "Durga Puja in Kolkata" on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising it as a living cultural tradition and not only a religious festival.
Publishing in Bengal follows the same calendar. Writers time new novels, story collections and children's books for the weeks before Puja, and bookshops in Kolkata's College Street, known as Boi Para, are at their busiest.
What is a Pujabarshiki?
A Pujabarshiki, also called a Sharadiya Sankhya, is a special festive issue brought out by Bengali magazines and newspapers before Durga Puja. A single volume carries complete novels, short stories, poems, essays and comics by many writers. For many readers, buying the Puja annual is as much a ritual as buying new clothes.
Several of the best-loved characters in Bengali fiction reached readers this way. Detective and adventure stories for young readers have long been a highlight of the children's annuals, which is one reason those series are still passed from one generation to the next.
What to read this Puja
A simple way to choose is to match the book to the reader:
- Classics: Rabindranath Tagore's stories and poems, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novels, and Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's Pather Panchali.
- Detective and adventure: Satyajit Ray's Feluda and Professor Shonku, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's Byomkesh Bakshi, and Sunil Gangopadhyay's Kakababu.
- For children: Sukumar Ray's Abol Tabol, illustrated story books and activity books.
- Modern fiction: novels by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Samaresh Majumdar and Humayun Ahmed.
Books as a Puja gift
Giving books at Puja is an old habit in Bengali homes. A collected edition suits parents and grandparents; a detective omnibus works for teenagers; and a set of picture books is an easy gift for small children. If you are buying for a student, a reference book or exam guide they need is a practical present.
If your family is spread across cities, ordering online is the simplest way to send a Puja gift. KOK Books delivers across India, and orders over ₹499 qualify for free delivery.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pujabarshiki?
Pujabarshiki, or Sharadiya Sankhya, is a special festive issue published by Bengali magazines and newspapers before Durga Puja. It collects new novels, short stories, poems and essays by many writers in one volume.
Is Durga Puja recognised by UNESCO?
Yes. "Durga Puja in Kolkata" was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2021.
Which Bengali books make good Durga Puja gifts?
Collected works of Tagore or Sarat Chandra suit older readers, Feluda, Byomkesh and Kakababu suit young readers, and illustrated books such as Abol Tabol suit children.
Can I order Bengali books online for Durga Puja?
Yes. KOK Books (kokbooks.com) sells Bengali and English books online with delivery across India, with free delivery on orders over ₹499.