This suite of materials offers an immersive, multi-dimensional look at Hindu puja practice, with a special focus on a Bengali community’s celebration of the goddess Durga. Combining 360° videos, expert interviews, and a virtual tour of Ananda Mandir in New Jersey, these resources work together to illuminate ritual elements, sacred spaces, and the cultural meanings that shape worship both during Navratri and Durga Puja more broadly. Informational overlays, learned commentary, and interactive features help connect visual details with historical context and lived experience, making it easier to understand how artistry, community, and devotion come together in a vibrant ritual tradition.
Our 360° videos offer an immersive look at a Bengali community’s celebration of the goddess Durga, featuring a puja service held during the Navratri festival. With information overlays that illuminate key gestures, symbols, and moments, these videos help students and educators see how tradition, devotion, and cultural expression come together in a living ritual context. Together, they provide a dynamic resource for exploring Hindu practice within a diasporic community and the rich meanings that shape worship today.
Click and drag the screen (or move your phone) to explore the full 360° view. For mobile viewing we recommend using the YouTube app.
These enhanced interviews feature Dr. Semontee Mitra, a scholar of American Hinduism, offering accessible insights into the practices, symbols, and community life surrounding Durga Puja and related traditions. Short clips unpack themes such as the evolution of the Durga murti, the significance of prasad and its preparation, the meaning of the goddess’s vehicles, and how Sarbojanin pujas bring communities together. Designed to complement the 360° videos and virtual tour, these interviews provide thoughtful context that helps students and educators understand how ritual, artistry, and cultural identity come together in the celebration of the goddess.
Discover the central themes, stories and symbols that shape Durga Puja celebrations.
Dr. Mitra explains the differences between resident and visiting deities in the U.S., and how expectations around sacred space has shifted.
See how cooking prasad, the sacred food offerings to Hindu gods and goddesses becomes an act of devotion and community
Explore how the form of the goddess Durga has changed over time.
Hear about Gopeshwar Pal, the artist responsible for changing how Durga’s murti was represented.
Discover the significance of the animals and other vehicles that accompany Durga on her journey each year.
Learn about the ghat, the sacred vessel that symbolizes Durga’s arrival and presence.
See how Brahmin priests (and priestesses) guide rituals and maintain tradition throughout the puja.
Explore how lay participants participate via the priest’s mediation during puja services.
Hear about the importance of Sanskrit and how sacred chants shape the soundscape of Durga Puja.
Discover how Durga embodies shakti, the divine feminine power.
Learn how community-sponsored worship services known as sarbojanin pujas developed and began to foster collective celebration.
Explore the nine forms of Durga honored during the festival of Navaratri.
📍 Somerset, NJ, USA
Take a self-guided virtual tour of Ananda Mandir, a Hindu temple in New Jersey, and explore how sacred space is arranged and used in a diasporic community. Informational hotspots highlight key features of the temple’s architecture, the deities housed within, and the significance of different areas for worship and community life. This tour offers students and educators an accessible way to connect visual details with deeper meanings, bringing the temple’s living context into focus.
Virtual tours can be taken above, viewed best on a desktop or laptop, or through itch.io, which hosts the tours.
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