The festival of Durga Puja is a festival showing how good triumphs over evil. It honours the Goddess Durga and different parts of India have different customs associated with the festival.
The story behind the festival is;
All of the gods were threatened by a buffalo that was really a demon called Mahisha. The gods could not kill the beast so they asked the goddess Durga for help. Durga tried to help but every time she cot the buffalo if its blood touched the floor it turned into more demons. It changed shape from a buffalo to a lion, to an elephant and back. The gods gave Durga all of their powers and weapons. She fought and fought and eventually won by standing on its back and chopping its head off.
During the festival many Hindus tell the story of the Ramayana and act out the story with puppets.
Most people go to the temple every day of the ten day festival. There is a special shrine made in a circle which is placed in the middle of the people and they dance round it. The shrine is called a madh. Special food is cooked and shared between all of the people who are at the temple.