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Durga Puja and Bengali traditions reveal a fascinating connection between the goddess and the living landscape. Often mistaken for Ganesha’s wife, Kola Bou is actually the banana plant at the centre of Nabapatrika, a ritual arrangement of nine plants that includes banana, turmeric, colocasia, pomegranate, wood apple, ashoka, arum, jayanti and rice. Bound together and bathed at dawn on Saptami, Nabapatrika brings agricultural life into the heart of Durga Puja, reflecting older traditions of honouring plants, fertility and the harvest. Sharad Navratri therefore carries more than stories of gods and battles; Nabapatrika preserves a relationship with the earth that connects ritual, farming and seasonal abundance.

[ Sharad Navratri, Nabapatrika, Kola Bou, Durga Puja, Bengali traditions, Nabapatrika ritual, Kola Bou meaning, banana bride Durga Puja, Saptami ritual, Bengali festival traditions, Durga Puja rituals, nine plants Nabapatrika, agricultural traditions of Bengal, Bengal heritage. ]

In Kumartuli, generations of artisan families shape Durga idols from straw, bamboo and river clay, patiently building the goddess over months before one final detail remains the eyes. Chokkhu Daan, meaning the giving of the eyes, marks the moment when the senior artist carefully paints the eyes of the Durga idol, a ritual believed to awaken the goddess before the celebrations begin. The same river clay that gives the Durga idol form eventually returns to the river after the festivities, completing a cycle between earth, artisan, deity and ritual. Sharad Navratri is therefore also a moment to remember the skilled hands of Kumartuli, where generations of Bengali craftsmanship continue to shape a living tradition.

[ Sharad Navratri, Durga idol, Kumartuli, Chokkhu Daan, Durga Puja, Kumartuli artisans, Durga idol making, Bengali craftsmanship, Bengal clay art, clay Durga idol, traditional idol making, Bengali heritage, artisan traditions, straw and clay sculpture. ]

one textile can belong to many spaces. In Indian homes, a dhurrie has traditionally served as a floor covering, seating, bedding or prayer mat, valued for the practicality of a reversible weave and the comfort of natural fibres. Today, Indian dhurries travel far beyond their original setting, finding places in homes across Europe and beyond as rugs, runners and mats. The versatility remains, even when the use changes. An Indian dhurrie can move from a lived-in family home to a contemporary interior thousands of kilometres away, carrying the same handwoven character into a completely different space.

Credits
Slide 1 - etsy
Slide 2 - shop
Slide 3 - mollaian rugs
Slide 4 - ornatehandicrafts
Slide 5 - etsy
Slide 6 - getty images


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A Naga shawl could communicate community, social standing and achievements, with specific colours, stripes and motifs carrying meanings recognised within the community. The Ao rongsu, associated with the feast of merit, and the Chakhesang Elicüra are examples of textiles whose significance is connected to social and cultural traditions rather than decoration alone. Naga shawls are traditionally woven by women on backstrap looms, making women’s knowledge central to the preservation of Naga textile traditions. More than garments, Naga shawls remain powerful expressions of identity, community memory and generations of weaving knowledge.

Credits
slide 1 - etsy
slide 2- shawlovers
slide 3 -
Slide 4 - scroll.in
Slide 5 - robert harding
Slide 6 - people's archive of rural india
Slide 7 -handicrafts by paharizones


[ Naga shawls, Naga textiles, Naga weaving, Ao Rongsu, Chakhesang shawl, Naga tribal textiles, Naga traditional shawls, Ao textile, Chakhesang textiles, Elicüra shawl, Feast of Merit, Naga backstrap loom, traditional Naga weaving, Northeast Indian textiles, tribal textiles of India. ]

Bengal folk art and Indian handicrafts come together in a form that carries both craft and devotion. The Bankura horse began as a terracotta offering at village shrines in Bengal, where horses were presented to Dharmaraj as part of local worship and prayer. Shaped by Kumbhakar potters, the Bankura horse is recognised for the elongated neck, pointed ears and geometric body that have become distinctive features of Bengal terracotta. In Panchmura, Bankura horse making continues through hand-shaping, assembling and firing, keeping a generations-old pottery tradition alive. From a sacred offering to a recognised symbol of Indian handicrafts, the Bankura horse carries a remarkable journey of faith, craftsmanship and cultural memory.

Credits
Slide 1 - geTS holidays
Slide 2 - flickr
Slide 3 - paper planes
Slide 4 - orange wayfarer cultural travel blog
Slide 5 - wikipedia
Slide 6 - indian council for cultural relations
Slide 7 - flickr


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For almost three hundred years, the method passed only from parent to child, within Atir Khan's family, and nowhere else.
Until recently, just one man alive could make a true Balaposh. He is gone now, but he taught his son and daughter first. A quilt that keeps two secrets: the scent it holds, and the way it was made.

The Balaposh was developed in 18th-century Murshidabad as a lighter alternative to heavy wool quilts, using layers of cotton and mulberry silk to create warmth suited to Bengal’s climate. What makes the Balaposh especially remarkable is the scented cotton and attar traditionally enclosed within the quilt, allowing fragrance to remain part of the textile long after making. The construction of the Balaposh was closely guarded within the maker’s family for generations, turning a textile tradition into a rare inheritance of specialised knowledge. The Balaposh therefore represents more than a luxurious quilt it preserves a remarkable story of craftsmanship, fragrance, family knowledge and the fragile continuity of Indian textile traditions.

Credits
Slide 1 - fidaindia
Slide 2 - wikidata
Slide 3 - global InCH
Slide 4 - address directory
Slide 6 - getbengal


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In Shekhawati, walls were never just boundaries.

They became canvases for stories, memories and the changing world around them. Gods and festivals appeared alongside trains, cars and aeroplanes sometimes imagined from descriptions rather than seen firsthand.

Painted into wet lime plaster, these frescoes became part of the architecture itself, covering homes across towns and villages with a visual record of the region’s life and imagination.
What makes the tradition especially fascinating is how something once meant to remain on a wall can now inspire textiles and travel beyond the streets that gave it meaning. The story stays rooted in Rajasthan, even as the art finds new surfaces to live on.

Credits
slide 1 - rajasthan tour planner
slide 2 - interlude journey
slide 3- tripsavvy
slide 4- condé nast traveller
slide 5 - inditales



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