Long before Durga Puja became synonymous with elaborate public pandals, dazzling lights and bustling crowds, the festival found its place in family courtyards, where devotion was passed down through generations.
Across Assam, several households continue to preserve this intimate tradition, transforming their homes into sacred spaces where ancestral customs, inherited responsibilities and personal faith converge.
From bringing gold ornaments out of safe storage to preparing bhog over firewood, every ritual carries a story.
For four families in Sivasagar, Guwahati, Nazira and Tezpur, Durga Puja is not merely an annual celebration but a legacy sustained through generations.
Devotees in Kujibali Haahsora carry the goddess on their shoulders to the Dikhow River for immersion, following a deeply rooted family tradition (AT Image)
At Kujibali Haahsora in Sivasagar district, a household Durga Puja completed 100 years in 2011.
For the family’s elder Bharat Prasad Borthakur, its continuity lies as much in the smallest ritual details as in the devotion that binds the family together.
An idol-making family from Sepon has been associated with the puja for generations. The responsibility passed from one artisan to his uncle and subsequently to his nephew.
While the Borthakur family provides the idol’s ornaments and accessories, the artisans ensure that its structure remains faithful to tradition.
Earlier, the idol-maker would arrive at Kujibali Haahsora a month or two before the festival to construct the framework, return to Sepon and come back shortly before the puja to complete the finishing touches.
This year, however, the next generation of artisans has proposed preparing the framework in Sepon before bringing it to the puja mandap.
“We have never changed the structure of the idol since the puja began. We also ask the artisan to ensure that Durga Ma’s eyes are directed towards the priest,” Borthakur says.
Gold ornaments are brought out of safe storage exclusively for the festival, while clothes and other accessories are purchased from Tinsukia.
The rituals follow an old and distinctive bidhi, incorporating tantric elements. Instead of Sandhi Puja, the family observes Adharatri Puja late on Saptami. Animal and other sacrifices are performed on Saptami and Navami.
In Kujibali, the goddess is taken abroad a boat and given three rounds of the Dikhow River before immersion (AT Image)
Dashami immersion, too, follows a deeply personal tradition. Family members carry the goddess on their shoulders to the Dikhow River, where she is taken aboard a boat and given three rounds of the river before immersion.
Inside the temple, participation is governed by strict customs. Only family members may enter to perform the rituals. Women and girls wear mekhela chador, while men and boys wear dhoti. Women who have undergone diksha prepare the bhog over firewood, while men and boys gather flowers, garlands and other offerings early in the morning.
For Borthakur, these practices are a sacred responsibility, not a public spectacle. Photography is prohibited once the worship begins, as the idol is regarded not as an object of art but as the living presence of the goddess.
“Once the puja begins, she is no longer just an idol. She is a deity, a living God, which is why photography is strictly prohibited inside the temple,” he says.
A century of devotion in Guwahati
At Uzanbazar in Guwahati, the Bishaya family is preparing to mark 101 years of its household Durga Puja this year.
The tradition began with a ghot puja initiated by Baroda Kanta Bishaya, the great-grandfather of Barsha Rani Bishaya.
It was her grandfather, Khiroda Kanta Bishaya, who later brought the worship of the goddess into the family home after watching celebrations at a nearby Barowari temple.
What began as a personal act of devotion gradually became an enduring family tradition.
“No one can simply decide to conduct a Shakti Puja. It is because of Ma’s blessings that we have been able to continue it through the generations,” Barsha Rani Bishaya says.
Across generations, household Durga Pujas in Assam preserve ancestral customs, with every ritual reflecting the enduring bond between family, faith and heritage - the Durga Devi idol at Bishaya's under preparation (AT Image)
Today, local artisans craft the idol within the premises, while clothes and accessories are sourced from Kumartuli in Kolkata. Gold ornaments adorn the goddess during the festival.
Although brands have offered sponsorship, the family has chosen to finance the puja collectively. Sponsors may undertake external decorations if they insist, but arrangements within the premises remain the family’s responsibility.
For Barsha Rani Bishaya, conducting a Shakti Puja is itself a blessing. She also cherishes the presence of devotees who have visited the household for years, making the annual celebration a meeting point between family heritage and a wider community of faith.
From a tea garden to Nazira
In Nazira, the Baruah family’s tradition stretches back to a time when its forefathers conducted Durga Puja in a tea garden. When the family moved to Nazira, the worship moved with them.
Nripen Baruah says a regular local artisan continues to craft the idol, while the family takes responsibility for the rituals and offerings.
His wife prepares the bhog, keeping its preparation within the household. A hired cook is brought in only to prepare meals for the guests and devotees who visit during the festival.
“The puja has been conducted for generations. I cannot say exactly how many years it has been, but it began with our forefathers in the tea garden before we moved to Nazira,” Baruah says.
Priests perform the prescribed rituals as offerings and puja essentials are arranged before the goddess in a household Durga Puja in Nazira (AT Image)
The distinction is important - the sacred offering remains a family responsibility, even as the household extends its hospitality to visitors.
The tradition survives not through a fixed anniversary or a recorded history alone, but through the repeated acts of devotion that have accompanied the family across generations.
151 years of worship in Tezpur
In Kolibari, Tezpur, the Bhattacharyya family is preparing to mark 151 years of its Durga Puja, founded by Bhabani Charan Bhattacharyya.
Samiran Bhattacharyya remembers a time when animal sacrifices were part of the worship. The practice was discontinued nine years ago, showing how customs can evolve while the central observance endures.
The family continues to perform Adharatri Puja instead of Sandhi Puja, follows prescribed tithi timings without delay and prepares bhog over firewood.
Preparations begin two to three weeks before the festival, with groceries purchased, the premises painted and decorations arranged.
Around 150 to 200 people come to partake of the bhog, which includes fish. Visitors arriving for pushpanjali are also offered light refreshments.
A devotee performs aarti with dhuna before the goddess, adding to the sacred atmosphere of a traditional household Durga Puja in Tezpur (AT Image)
“We strictly follow the tithi and its timings. If the puja is supposed to begin early in the morning, we start then without waiting for anyone. We consider it a blessing to be able to offer bhog to devotees and guests,” Bhattacharyya says.
Across these four households, the rituals and histories differ, but the underlying sentiment remains strikingly similar.
The responsibility of conducting Durga Puja is inherited, practised and renewed through everyday acts of care.
When the goddess arrives, each home becomes more than a venue for worship. It becomes a living archive of family history, where faith is measured not by the scale of the celebration but by the devotion with which every ritual is carried forward.