Kali Puja and Diwali 2026 in Kolkata: Dates, Where to Go and Cracker Rules

Kali Puja and Diwali both fall on Sunday, 8 November 2026. In Kolkata the night is Kali’s: the puja starts late and runs past midnight, the temples at Kalighat and Dakshineswar draw their largest crowds of the year, and neighbourhood pandals stay open till dawn. Bhai Phonta follows on Wednesday 11 November in the state holiday list. Firecrackers are tightly restricted, and the 2026 rules were still awaited when we wrote this. Here are the dates, where to go, what to do in the two weeks before, and the rules as they stand. Events are added daily on our Kali Puja and Diwali hub.

Kali Puja and Diwali 2026 dates in Kolkata

Festival	Date	Notes
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja	Sun, 25 Oct	The Bengali Lakshmi Puja, four days after Dashami
Dhanteras	Fri, 6 Nov	Gold, silver and utensil buying
Bhoot Chaturdashi	Sat, 7 Nov	Fourteen lamps and fourteen greens
Kali Puja / Diwali	Sun, 8 Nov	Puja around midnight
Bhai Phonta	Wed, 11 Nov	State holiday list; some calendars say Tue 10 Nov
Chhath Puja	Fri 13 – Mon 16 Nov	Evening arghya on Sun 15 Nov, morning on Mon 16 Nov
Jagaddhatri Puja	Wed, 18 Nov	Four days, 16–19 Nov; Chandannagar is the place to go

Because Kali Puja is on a Sunday, the party and shopping weekends are 31 October–1 November and the evenings of 6 and 7 November. Published state holiday lists also show additional Kali Puja holidays early in the following week, so check your office circular.

How Kolkata’s Diwali is different

In most of India, Diwali evening means Lakshmi and Ganesh. Most Bengali households have already worshipped Lakshmi by then, on Kojagari Purnima, and spend the new-moon night on Kali, known in this form as Shyama. The puja is tantric in origin and is done late: priests begin after dark and the main rites fall around midnight. At the Kalighat temple, the goddess is worshipped as Lakshmi on this one night of the year.

The evening before is Bhoot Chaturdashi. Families eat choddo shaak, a dish of fourteen leafy greens, and light choddo prodip, fourteen lamps, in the corners of the house to keep spirits away. The city’s Marwari, Gujarati and north Indian communities keep Diwali in the more familiar way, with Lakshmi-Ganesh puja, new account books and lit-up shopfronts, most visibly in Burrabazar.

Where to see Kali Puja

The temples

• Kalighat. One of the 51 Shakti Peeths; the present temple was completed in 1809. Queues on Kali Puja evening are very long, so go in the morning or accept a wait of hours. Kalighat and Jatin Das Park stations on the Blue Line are both within ten minutes’ walk. More on our Kalighat and Bhowanipore page.
• Dakshineswar. Rani Rashmoni’s riverside temple, completed in 1855, is at the northern end of the Blue Line; a skywalk leads from the station towards the gate. It is associated with Ramakrishna, and the night-long puja draws devotees from across the state. See our Dakshineswar page.
• Thanthania Kalibari and Lake Kalibari. Two old neighbourhood shrines, one on Bidhan Sarani near College Street and one on Southern Avenue, that are easier to manage than the big temples.

The pandals

Kali Puja pandals are fewer than Durga Puja’s but go up in every para. The best-known cluster is in central-north Kolkata around Amherst Street and College Street, where old clubs build tall idols and elaborate lighting, and you can cover several on foot from Mahatma Gandhi Road or Sealdah station. In the south, look around Chetla and Kalighat. Idols range from the benign Shyama Kali to fierce forms worshipped by particular clubs for generations.

Barasat and Naihati

If you want Kali Puja at Durga Puja scale, go north of the city. Barasat’s theme pandals and lighting draw crowds comparable to Kolkata’s in October, and Naihati is known for its towering idol. Both are on suburban lines from Sealdah. Go on Sunday night or on Monday 9 November, and expect packed trains.

Things to do in the two weeks before

Shop the light and lamp markets

• Burrabazar and Ezra Street for string lights, lanterns and wholesale décor. Go on a weekday morning; the lanes are close to impassable in the last weekend.
• Kumartuli for clay diyas and small idols, straight from the potters. Sovabazar Sutanuti is the nearest metro. Our Kumartuli and Sovabazar page has directions.
• New Market for gifts, dry fruit and cake. It is closed on Sundays.
• Gariahat and Hatibagan for clothes, with the usual pavement bargaining.

Go to a Diwali mela or pop-up

Clubs, hotels and schools hold Diwali melas and festive exhibitions through late October and the first week of November, with home décor, candles, hampers and food stalls. We list confirmed ones on the Diwali hub and the week’s markets on our flea markets page.

Eat

Diwali week is a second sweet season after Bijoya. Bengali sweet shops bring out seasonal sandesh and special boxes for Bhai Phonta, and the north Indian mithai shops of Burrabazar and Bhowanipore sell kaju katli, laddoos and namkeen. Restaurants run Diwali thalis and tasting menus; see our food listings.

Parties and card nights

Card parties are a fixture in the city’s business families and mostly happen at home. For a night out, bars and clubs on Park Street, Camac Street and in Sector V run Diwali-themed and Bollywood nights on the two weekends before. They appear in our nightlife listings as they are announced.

With children

Look for diya-painting, rangoli and lantern-making workshops in the fortnight before; they are listed on our kids and family events page. They keep small hands busy and away from crackers.

Firecrackers: the rules

West Bengal has allowed only green crackers for several years, within a short evening window. This is where things stood in mid-October 2026.

• The 2026 order was not yet out. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board normally publishes its notification a week or two before the festival; in 2025 it came a week ahead.
• What applied in 2025. Only green fireworks certified by PESO or NEERI could be sold or used. Bursting was allowed for two hours, from 8 pm to 10 pm, on Kali Puja and Diwali night. The board and the police set up checkpoints to stop unlicensed fireworks entering the market.
• Where to buy. In 2025, certified green crackers were sold at four official fairs, the bazi bazaars, in the days before the festival. Buy there, not from pavement sellers.
• Noise. The fireworks producers’ association has cited a ceiling of 125 decibels for permitted crackers. Loud chocolate bombs and similar banned items are seized every year.
• The court’s position. The Calcutta High Court has directed the state to ensure that only green crackers are used at Diwali and Kali Puja, and has made police chiefs responsible for enforcement.

We will update this page when the 2026 notification is published. Until then, assume the same window and the same green-only rule.

Safety on Kali Puja night

• Burns. Keep a bucket of water nearby. Cool a burn under running water for at least ten minutes; do not apply ice, toothpaste or butter. Call 112 in an emergency or 101 for the fire service.
• Children should handle only sparklers, with an adult, in cotton clothes.
• Pets and elderly relatives suffer most from noise. Keep windows shut and a quiet room ready from 7 pm.
• Diyas and candles on balconies and stairs cause more house fires than crackers do. Keep them away from curtains and put them out before you sleep.
• Air. Smoke hangs low on a still November night. People with asthma should keep their inhalers close and stay in after 8 pm.

Getting around

• Metro. Kalighat, Jatin Das Park and Dakshineswar stations put the big temples within walking distance. Check the Metro’s notice for Sunday and festival timings before a late-night plan; the last trains normally leave around 10:40 pm, well before the midnight puja.
• Cabs. Surge pricing is steep between 9 pm and 1 am. Fix your return before you leave.
• Driving. Police restrict vehicles near major temples and pandals on the night, and drink-driving checks continue all week.

After Diwali

• Bhai Phonta, Wednesday 11 November. Sisters mark their brothers’ foreheads with sandalwood paste and feed them lunch. Sweet shops and Bengali restaurants are busy from morning, and roads into residential areas slow down around noon.
• Chhath, 15 and 16 November. Devotees gather at the Hooghly ghats and at waterbodies designated by the civic authorities for the evening and morning offerings. Rabindra Sarobar has been kept closed for the rituals in recent years to protect the lake.
• Jagaddhatri Puja, 18 November. Chandannagar, on the Howrah–Bandel line, is known for its lighting artists, the same people who make the Park Street Christmas illuminations. The four days run from 16 to 19 November.

A simple plan

When	What to do
24–25 Oct	Lakshmi Puja at home; first trip to Burrabazar for lights
31 Oct – 1 Nov	Diwali melas, festive shopping, the first round of parties
Fri 6 Nov	Dhanteras: jewellers and utensil shops, early in the day
Sat 7 Nov	Bhoot Chaturdashi: fourteen lamps at dusk
Sun 8 Nov	Temple visit in the morning; pandals after 10 pm
Wed 11 Nov	Bhai Phonta lunch
15–18 Nov	Chhath at the ghats; a trip to Chandannagar

If you missed the pandals in October, our Durga Puja guide explains how the season works. For everything else on in the city, see this week’s events.

Frequently asked questions

When are Kali Puja and Diwali in 2026?

Both fall on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Kali Puja is performed around midnight on the new-moon night. Dhanteras is on Friday 6 November and Bhoot Chaturdashi on Saturday 7 November.

When is Bhai Phonta 2026?

The West Bengal holiday list places Bhai Phonta (Bhratridwitiya) on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. Some calendars give Tuesday 10 November, so follow the panjika your family uses.

Are firecrackers allowed in Kolkata for Kali Puja 2026?

The 2026 notification had not been issued when this guide was written. In 2025 the West Bengal Pollution Control Board allowed only certified green crackers, for two hours from 8 pm to 10 pm on Kali Puja night, and the same framework has applied for several years.

Where can I see Kali Puja in Kolkata?

At the Kalighat and Dakshineswar temples, at old shrines such as Thanthania Kalibari and Lake Kalibari, and at community pandals around Amherst Street and College Street. Barasat and Naihati, north of the city, are known for very large Kali Puja pandals.

Do Bengalis do Lakshmi Puja on Diwali?

Most Bengali households worship Lakshmi on Kojagari Purnima, which was 25 October in 2026, and worship Kali on Diwali night. Marwari, Gujarati and north Indian families in the city do Lakshmi-Ganesh puja on Diwali evening.

When is Chhath Puja 2026 in Kolkata?

The evening offering is on Sunday 15 November and the morning offering on Monday 16 November 2026. The four-day observance begins on Friday 13 November.

Sources checked

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Puja
• www.happyfares.in/blog/?p=12580
• cleartax.in/s/west-bengal-government-holiday-list-2026
• www.godigit.com/guides/holidays/west-bengal-government-holidays-list
• www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/10/13/ces28-wb-fireworks.html
• theleaflet.in/supreme-court/ensure-only-green-crackers-used-on-diwali-kal
• hindutone.com/festivals/diwali-crackers-guidelines-west-bengal-2026-compl
• hindutone.com/festivals/jagaddhatri-puja-2026-date-chandannagar/
• hindutone.com/festivals/chhath-puja-2026-arghya-time-city-wise-bihar-indi
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalighat_Kali_Temple
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakshineswar_Kali_Temple
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_Christmas_Festival
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_Metro

Researched and written by the kolkata2go editors. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.