Sounds of the Festival—Dhak Beats, Chants, and Street Music”

This is the month of June 2025. “Kolkata”—the ‘City of Joy’—get ready to celebrate the most vibrant festival, Durga Puja, for this year. This year Durga Puja comes quite early. It starts from September last to October second. Durga Puja is not just a festival; it’s a nostalgia for Bengalis. Here, excitement spread in the air. The whole city turns into a festival ground. Whenever I think about Durga Puja, the sounds of the festival come to my mind & my heart fills with a sensational pleasure.

Nobody can explain the Durga Puja without the sounds of the festival. The rhythmic beats of the dhak, the melodious chants of devotion, and the lively street performances collectively create a soundscape that defines the essence of this grand festival.

Dhak

The dhak is the traditional drum that plays the main role in the Durga Puja celebration. The sounds of dhak signal the arrival of Goddess Durga. Its booming rhythms are essential to the celebrations, influencing the flow of several dances and rituals. It is believed that the music beautifies the surroundings and brings forward her holy presence. The spiritual beat of the activities is established by coordinating the sounds of each major ceremony, including bodhon (invocation), aarti, sandhi puja, and bisarjan (immersion).

with particular Dhak rhythms.

Early in the festival, the dhak's beats are slow; as the celebration peaks, they turn fast and energetic. These changing rhythms represent the Puja's progress and the devotees' rising anticipation.

Dhunuchi Dance

Accompanying the dhak, the dhunuchi dance is the famous ritual celebrated on the evening of the puja days in front of the goddess Durga, where devotees perform with incense burners in hand, moving in harmony with the rhythms.

On the last day of the festival, as the goddess Durga is taken for immersion, the sound of the dhak beats slows down, creating a dramatic effect that reflects both the sorrowful farewell and the hopeful anticipation of her return the following year. Devotees chant, “Asche bochor abar hobe” (Next year, we shall celebrate again).

Chants

The chants in Durga Puja are sacred mantras. These mantras play a vital role in the festival, filling the air with devotion from every pandal. Loud and powerful chants, recited in Sanskrit by the Purohit (the Bengali priest), are followed by thousands of devotees. Their spiritual and emotional impact is deeply felt.

When mantras like “Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Shakti Rupena Samsthita” are chanted in unison by the crowd, led by the Purohit, they create a profound sense of unity and cultural identity. With folded hands, all devotees offer their prayers to Goddess Durga, believing that Maa protects them from evil and blesses them with strength and peace.

According to tradition, the vibrations of these Sanskrit mantras purify the surroundings and generate positive energy.

Multiple types of mantras are used in the time of Durga Puja. Some of them describe the Devi Durga, others describe how she demolished the demon Mahishasur, some mantras are used at the time of Arati or prayer or Sandhi puja, and many more……

Street Music

We can’t conclude the Durga Puja festival without describing the street music or street performances. In the time of Durga Puja, each & every pandal presents their musical concert on their puja ground. In the evening of the puja days, each & every street near the puja pandal area is fully crowded for the performance of local & celebrity performers. Live performance as well as recorded songs creates the madness among the people of all ages. You can see teenagers enjoying & dancing to their favorite recent songs, and aged persons sitting with their family or friends enjoying the festival with some local foods. Somewhere you can see the debate of friends about the puja hit songs with laughter & fun. Either it is light, enjoyable musical beats, or it is serious, complicated music. Node people enjoy both as much as it is.

Food sellers’ calling sounds mix with talking, dancing, music, beats, laughter, and fun to create a perfect, enjoyable festival background for Durga Puja. All of the above sounds mix & match and present a fun-loving, enjoyable ambience of the festival. It is the flavor of Durga Puja in Kolkata.