Kali (Shyama)
Kali Puja
While the west lights Lakshmi's lamps, Bengal calls the dark Mother by midnight.
Tithi: Kartik Amavasya, Diwali's night (north) · Ashwin Amavasya, Diwali's night (west & south) — the same night
Which calendar do you follow?
The bright fortnight is named the same everywhere. A dark fortnight belongs to one month in the north and to the month before it in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south: the same night, two true names. Saved only on this device.
In the simplest words
Bengal's Diwali night belongs to Ma Kali, fierce, dark and endlessly loving, worshipped at midnight with hibiscus red as courage.
The story & purpose
On the same amavasya as Diwali, Bengal turns to Shyama, Kali the dark one, time and mother both, garlanded in what the ego fears most and holding the abhaya mudra over her children. The paradox is the point: to those who come as children, the terrifying one is utterly tender.
The rest of the story
The modern festival owes much to Ramakrishna's Dakshineswar, where the priest spoke to Bhavatarini as a daily fact. Pandals rise as for Durga; hibiscus garlands and khichuri bhog mark the night, and the puja runs at midnight's amavasya hour.
Kali is offered what her children eat, rice, fish and sweets, because a mother is not worshipped from a distance.
What is done
Midnight puja
The Mother invoked in the amavasya's deepest hour with 108 hibiscus and 108 lamps.
Home Shyama puja
A plain householder's worship: her image, red flowers, sweets, and truthful speech; she accepts nothing else.
Deepdan
Fourteen lamps from Bhoot Chaturdashi carried into the night's full illumination.
Kali jaap
Om Kreem Kalikayai Namah, 108 times, fearlessly and with love.
Best timings
Puja at nishita (solar midnight) of the amavasya.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition; for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
Kalighat and Dakshineswar queue through the night; Tarapith burns bright till dawn.
Assam keeps the same night for Kali across its shakti pithas; Odisha for Shyama in silver filigree.
Ramprasad's and Kamalakanta's Shyama-sangeet are tonight's soundtrack, theology you can hum.