The Day Before Mahalaya

Tomorrow, before sunrise, most of Bengal will have the radio on. Mahalaya falls on 10 October 2026, and Birendra Krishna Bhadra's Mahishasuramardini — recorded in 1931 and broadcast every year since — starts at four in the morning.

What Mahalaya actually is

It is the last day of Pitri Paksha, the fortnight for remembering ancestors, and the first of Devi Paksha. Families offer tarpan at the river at dawn. It is also, by custom, the morning the eyes are painted on the idol — chokkhu daan — and the goddess is considered to begin her journey home.

Nothing is worn to a pandal on Mahalaya. The pandals are not open. It is a quiet, early, domestic morning, and it is many people's favourite day of the entire festival for exactly that reason.

What people wear

Simple and traditional. A cotton or Tant saree, white or cream, often with a red border. Men wear a white or cream kurta. Nobody dresses up for Mahalaya and dressing up would be slightly beside the point.

If you are going to the river for tarpan, wear something you do not mind getting wet, and cotton rather than silk. See cotton and linen sarees and RANJH kurta pajama.

What it means for the week ahead

From tomorrow the countdown is real: Shashthi on 16 October, Saptami the 17th, Ashtami the 18th, Navami the 19th and Vijaya Dashami on the 20th.

Practically, today is the last day anything will be altered, stitched or reliably delivered. If something is still missing, buy it ready and buy it in a store — the checklist is here.

And then it starts

The six days are planned out in the Durga Puja 2026 outfit guide — which weight of saree on which day, and why the heavy silk waits for Ashtami.

Everything for the week is at festive collection.