The Durga Puja in the Oriya month of Aswina (September–October) and Kalipuja (October–November), which are celebrated with utmost solemnity, gaiety and eclat. The great Mother, as the ten-handed Durga, is believed to come down from her husband's home on Mount Kailash to her parents' abode in the Himalayas every year for three days, the 7th, 8th and 9th days of the 'bright fortnight' in the month of Aswina. In Odisha richly decorated and beautifully made images are installed in people's houses and the festival instils a spirit of holiness and sancity in the whole community, so much so that people of other faiths participate in it with abundant warmth and sincerity. In Odisha the special feature of Durga Puja is that, in the temples, it extends a over sixteen day period known as Shodasa Upachara, unlike other parts of the country, where it lasts for three to nine days at most.
