A month after Durga Puja, the old French town of Chandannagar lights itself up for Jagaddhatri Puja, and for one week it puts on one of the most elaborate lighting displays in Bengal. Few visitors from outside the state know about it. This guide covers the 2026 dates, what makes Chandannagar and Krishnanagar different, the immersion procession, and how to get there from Kolkata.
The short answer
Navami, the main day: Wednesday 18 November 2026.
The festival: about 16 to 19 November, with the immersion procession on the last night.
Where: Chandannagar, 45 km north of Kolkata on the Hooghly; Krishnanagar, about 115 km.
Scale: more than 190 community pujas across Chandannagar, Bhadreswar and Champdani.
From Kolkata: 1½–2 hours by road on a normal day, about an hour by train from Howrah.
Who Jagaddhatri Is
Jagaddhatri, “the one who holds the world”, is a form of the goddess closely related to Durga and worshipped across Bengal on the ninth day of the bright half of Kartik, about a month after Durga Puja. She rides a lion. Her worship is older, but the public festival took its present shape in the eighteenth century, in the courts and towns of Nadia and Hooghly.
For a visitor the theology matters less than the result: for one week in November, two towns near Kolkata, Chandannagar and Krishnanagar, put on a festival that rivals Durga Puja in the scale of its lighting and the size of its crowds, with a fraction of the visitors from outside Bengal.
Jagaddhatri Puja 2026 Dates
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Saptami | Monday 16 November | The pandals open and the lights go on |
| Ashtami | Tuesday 17 November | Crowds build through the evening |
| Navami | Wednesday 18 November | The main day. Drik Panchang gives the Navami tithi as 06:04 on 18 November to 07:05 on 19 November (New Delhi time) |
| Dashami | Thursday 19 November | Immersion begins; in Chandannagar the lit procession is the climax of the festival |
Bengali almanacs and the local puja committees set their own timings, and in Chandannagar the Central Committee, the municipal corporation and the police publish the immersion route and schedule close to the day. Use the dates above to plan, and confirm the procession night before you travel.
Why Chandannagar Is the One to See
Chandannagar sits on the west bank of the Hooghly, about 45 km north of Kolkata, and was a French settlement until the middle of the twentieth century. The riverside Strand, the Sacred Heart church and the old French buildings give the town a character no other puja town has.
Its real fame is light. Chandannagar’s lighting artisans are known across India: one, Sridhar Das, showed his work at the Festival of India in Moscow in 1985, the Thames Festival in 2003 and at Buckingham Palace in 2004. During the puja the whole town becomes their showcase, with streets, pandals and the immersion floats wired into moving pictures.
The scale is real. An online listing of the festival counts more than 190 community pujas across Chandannagar, Bhadreswar and Champdani, and 161 committees are affiliated to the Chandernagore Central Jagadhatri Puja Committee. Corporation sources quoted in one account put the crowd on the immersion night alone at more than ten lakh people.
The immersion procession
On the last night the idols leave their pandals on lorries, each followed by its lighting tableaux, and move slowly through the town along a route laid down in French times. It runs through the night and is the single most spectacular thing about the festival. It is also the most crowded, and it is not a night to bring small children or anyone uncomfortable in a dense crowd.
Where the tradition comes from
The popular story credits Indranarayan Chaudhuri, a dewan of the French East India Company, with starting the puja in Chandannagar, but one careful local history points out that he died in 1756, before the dates the story needs. The same account traces the earliest trading-community puja to Chaulpatti in Laxmigunj Bazaar, whose lion crown other pujas still borrow, and dates the town’s tradition to the 1760s.
Krishnanagar and the Other Puja Towns
Krishnanagar, about 115 km from Kolkata, keeps the other great Jagaddhatri Puja. Its tradition is tied to Maharaja Krishnachandra of Nadia, and its most revered image, Burima at Chasapara, dates to 1772. More than 200 clubs and barowari committees hold pujas in the town, and the immersion here has its own ritual, known locally as “sang”.
Bhadreswar, next to Chandannagar, has the old Tentultala puja, where men take part in the rituals dressed in saris. Rishra, Guptipara and Singur keep the festival too, on a smaller scale.
How to Go From Kolkata
| How | Time | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| By road | 1½–2 hours, much longer on puja nights | 45 km. Traffic on the Grand Trunk Road and around the town is heavy in the evenings, and some roads close for the procession |
| By local train | About an hour from Howrah | Chandannagar is on the Howrah–Bardhaman main line. Trains are packed on the main nights |
| By ferry | A short crossing | A ferry crosses the Hooghly from Barrackpore on the east bank, useful from north Kolkata |
Go late in the afternoon and stay into the evening; the lights are the point and they come on at dusk. Wear shoes you can walk in for hours, agree a meeting point in case your group is separated, and keep valuables to a minimum. Mid-November evenings are dry and comfortable.
Our Chandannagar day trip runs 8 hours door to door, at USD 83₹8,000EUR 73GBP 63 private for two or from USD 43₹4,100EUR 38GBP 32 each in a larger party, with the Strand, the Sacred Heart church and the town’s famous sweets. For the puja dates, ask us before you book: road access and timings change, and we plan the trip around them.
Durga Puja is Kolkata’s. Jagaddhatri Puja belongs to the river towns, and in Chandannagar it is lit like nothing else in Bengal.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Jagaddhatri Puja in 2026?
Navami, the main day, is Wednesday 18 November 2026. The puja runs from about Saptami on 16 November to Dashami on 19 November, with Chandannagar's immersion procession on the last night.
Where is the best place to see Jagaddhatri Puja?
Chandannagar, about 45 km north of Kolkata, for its lighting and its immersion procession. Krishnanagar, about 115 km from Kolkata, for the oldest and most revered images, including Burima at Chasapara.
Can I do Chandannagar as a day trip from Kolkata?
Yes. It is 1½ to 2 hours by road on a normal day and about an hour by local train from Howrah. On puja nights allow far longer and plan to stay into the evening.
When is the Chandannagar immersion procession?
On the last night of the festival, running through the night. The Central Committee, the municipal corporation and the police publish the route and timing close to the date, so confirm it before you travel.
Is Jagaddhatri Puja crowded?
Very, especially on Navami evening and the immersion night. Accounts put the immersion-night crowd in Chandannagar at more than ten lakh people. Go early, keep your group together, and avoid the procession night with small children.
Sources: Drik Panchang, Jagaddhatri Puja 2026 · The Space Ink, Jagadhatri Puja in Chandernagore · Wikipedia, Jagaddhatri Puja. Dates follow the lunar calendar and are reconfirmed before any booking.