[6] Since 1610, the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family has been organizing Durga Puja at their original residence in Barisha, Kolkata.

In 1957, each community spent an average of ₹8,000 to ₹12,000 rupees at that time, the combined cost of the pujas was about ₹25 lakhs were; in 1984, that total increased to approximately ₹2 crores.

[5][19] Durga Puja is mainly celebrated for 5 days - Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Vijaya Dashami.

The main attractions of Durga Puja in Kolkata are the decorations, sculptures, pandals,[20] lights and illuminations, and carnival.

[18] In the 17th century, from Pujas being organised by the zamindars in their rajbaris, today the festival has become an emblem of joy and unbounded enjoyment.

[21] Even till the 20th century also Kolkata's Durga Puja was primarily a religious and familial event, where different communities came together to worship her and partake in the age-old traditions associated with the festival.

While the emotions, essence of devotion and community spirit still thrives, Durga Puja has undergone remarkable changes in terms of scale, style and cultural significance.

[22] The most remarkable changes in the recent times include the exponential proliferation in the number of pujas across the city, an emphasis on creative art and a overwhelming crowd of people visiting the pandals every year.

[26] Later, the Supreme Court of India refused to put a stay order on the incentives but asked the government to keep a record of the grants given.

[34] A study - Mapping the Creative Economy around the Durga Puja - has been commissioned by the British Council on behalf of the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal.

Major among the various economic sectors are installation, art and decoration, Idol making, lighting and illumination, literature and publishing, sponsorship, advertising, retail, crafts and design (Puja Utensils), film and entertainment, and food and beverage.

[19] In 2019, Kolkata accounts for 15% share of pandal-making (installation, art and decoration) industry of West Bengal, worth ₹129 crores.