Kali Puja is a Hindu festival mostly observed in the Eastern part of the country - in most cases, the festival co incides with Diwali however, the two can occur a day apart too. This year the Kali Puja will be observed on the day of Diwali only, that is November 14. The rituals of Kali Puja are observed around midnight.
Significance
Kali is known as the fierce and aggressive form of Goddess Durga who had annihilated the demon Mahisasur during what we celebrate Navratri and Durga Puja now. Similarly, Kali Puja too is an extension of Durga Puja, where devotees, mostly from the Bengali community gather around in a pandal where an idol of Kali maa is placed. The ritual observed through the night includes chanting of special mantras to invoke Goddess Kali so that she can destroy all negative elements around you and bring health, wealth and prosperity in your house. Once it is dawn, the chanting and mantras are concluded and bhog or prasad is distributed.
Timings
This year Kali Puja and Diwali will be observed on the same day with the former occuring in the intervening night of November 14 and 15. The Muhurat for the same is between 11.39 pm on November 14 to 12.32 am on November 15.
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