Devotees carry a banana plant draped in a sari to the banks of the River Ganga in Kolkata as the Nabapatrika Snan ritual opens the Durga Puja festivities on 17 October 2026. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
A sari clad banana plant — symbolising Goddess Durga's divine presence — is carried by worshippers to the River Ganga ghats in Kolkata during the Nabapatrika Snan on 17 October 2026. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The Nabapatrika — a banana plant wrapped in a new sari — is ritually bathed in the River Ganga at Kolkata on 17 October 2026, marking the sacred dawn ceremony central to Durga Puja. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
Large numbers of worshippers gathered on the banks of the River Ganga in Kolkata on 17 October 2026 to observe the Nabapatrika Snan, one of the most visually striking rituals of the Durga Puja season. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
On 17 October 2026, the Nabapatrika Snan ritual drew devotees to the River Ganga in Kolkata, where a banana plant — dressed in a sari — was ceremonially immersed as part of the Durga Puja observance in West Bengal. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
A banana plant wrapped in a sari is venerated by devotees on the River Ganga banks in Kolkata on 17 October 2026, embodying the Nabapatrika — a composite plant deity central to Durga Puja worship. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The Nabapatrika, literally meaning 'nine leaves,' is a bundle of nine plants — with the banana plant at its centre — draped in a sari and revered as a living deity during Durga Puja in Kolkata. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
Devotees perform the Nabapatrika Snan on the River Ganga banks in Kolkata on 17 October 2026 — the banana plant at its heart is traditionally associated with Lord Ganesha's consort in Bengali Hindu tradition. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
Performed at dawn on the Ganga ghats in Kolkata, the Nabapatrika Snan on 17 October 2026 sees priests and family members ritually bathe the sari wrapped banana plant before it is installed beside the Durga idol. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
Scores of devotees converged on the River Ganga ghats in Kolkata on 17 October 2026 to witness the Nabapatrika Snan, performing prayers around the sari draped banana plant revered as Lord Ganesha's consort. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
During the Nabapatrika Snan on 17 October 2026, the sari wrapped banana plant is carried in procession to the River Ganga in Kolkata, immersed in the sacred waters, then returned to the Durga Puja pandal for installation. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The Nabapatrika Snan reflects West Bengal's centuries old tradition of treating nature as sacred — the banana plant, dressed as a bride, embodies the earth's fertility within the grand Durga Puja festival in Kolkata. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The Durga Puja 2026 celebrations in Kolkata were marked on 17 October by the distinctive Nabapatrika Snan spectacle — devotees thronging the River Ganga ghats in a vivid display of West Bengal's religious heritage. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The sari draped banana plant seen at every Durga Puja pandal in West Bengal is the Nabapatrika — first bathed in the River Ganga in Kolkata on 17 October 2026 before being placed beside the main deity. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
Families joined priests at the River Ganga ghats in Kolkata on 17 October 2026 for the Nabapatrika Snan, a communal ceremony that fuses Durga Puja devotion with the sanctity of the Ganga's sacred waters. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
The Nabapatrika Snan serves as one of the opening ceremonies of the Durga Puja festival, held at the River Ganga in Kolkata on 17 October 2026, signalling the formal commencement of the main days of worship. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)
As the Nabapatrika Snan concluded on the banks of the River Ganga in Kolkata on 17 October 2026, the sari draped banana plant was returned to the pandal — marking Durga Puja in West Bengal in full, vibrant swing. (Photo: NationPress/Kuntal Chakrabarty)