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Garia Puja: the bamboo god of Tripura’s households
A bamboo pole dressed in flowers goes from house to house behind the drums
Garia Puja is a festival of the Tripuri and other Kokborok-speaking communities of Tripura, held in April. Garia, often called Baba Garia, is the benevolent spirit of the household and the deity of livestock and wealth, worshipped in the form of a bamboo pole dressed with flowers. The main puja is a Tripura state holiday, about a week after Buisu, the Tripuri new year: 21 April 2027 (expected).
The Tripura holiday list, published in November or December of the previous year, fixes the day.
The legend
Garia is the deity of livestock and wealth, the kindly spirit of the household for the Tripuri and other Kokborok-speaking peoples.
The festival grew out of farming life: in April Garia is asked for plenty and a good year.
Customs
Pole in flowers
Garia's image is a bamboo pole dressed with flowers and garlands. The rite is led by the priest, the ochai.
Garia dance
Children and young people drum, sing and dance before Garia; the well-known Garia dance grew out of this rite.
Mind the shadow
During the festival no one may cross the shadow of the Garia pole, so as not to anger the deity.
The puja
The rite is led by the priest, the ochai. Devotees offer bamboo poles decorated with leaves, coloured threads and cloth, with flowers and fruit, and pray for prosperity, health and a good year: the festival grew out of farming life, and in April Garia is asked for plenty. By tradition the deity is taken from house to house and village to village in the days before the main puja, which comes on the seventh day. Young people drum, sing and dance before Garia, and the Garia dance, now Tripura’s signature folk dance, grew out of this rite.
The offerings listed by the state’s Information and Cultural Affairs department include cotton thread, rice, a fowl chick, rice beer, eggs and earthen pots, and a fowl is sacrificed before the deity, its blood spread before Garia for his blessing.
Where to see it
Community pujas are set up on school and club grounds around Agartala, Tripura’s capital, and in Tripuri villages across the state. The main state-level celebration has been held at Garjantoli in Teliamura, organised by the Jamatia Hoda. In 2025 the state government added a two-day state-level Baba Garia festival in Agartala, with dances, music and crafts. People of all communities, tribal and non-tribal, take part.
Etiquette for visitors
Garia Puja is a living rite, open to visitors who keep to its rules.
- Mind the shadow — During the festival no one may cross the shadow of the Garia pole, so as not to anger the deity. Watch where you walk around it.
- Ask first — Ask before photographing the priest, the altar and the offerings, and keep back from the altar while the puja is under way.
- Sacrifice — A fowl is sacrificed at the puja. If that is hard for you to watch, come for the drumming and the dances rather than the main rite.
- Check the day — The Tripura holiday list, published in November or December of the year before, fixes the day of the puja; check it before you book.
Garia among Tripura’s festivals
Garia comes about a week after Buisu, the Tripuri new year in mid-April, and two more Tripuri pujas follow in summer: Kharchi Puja at the Fourteen Gods temple in Old Agartala (11–17 July 2027, expected), and Ker Puja about two weeks after Kharchi ends.
FAQ
What is Garia Puja?
A festival of Tripura’s Tripuri and other Kokborok-speaking communities in honour of Baba Garia, the household deity of livestock and wealth, worshipped as a flower-dressed bamboo pole. It gave rise to the Garia dance.
In which state is Garia Puja celebrated?
In Tripura, in north-east India, in Agartala and in Tripuri villages across the state.
When is Garia Puja?
In April, on 7 Baishakh of the Bengali calendar, about a week after Buisu. Main day: 21 April 2027 (expected).
In which Indian state are Ker and Garia Puja celebrated?
Both are Tripuri pujas of Tripura: Garia in April, Ker in summer, about two weeks after Kharchi Puja ends.
What is the Kharchi Puja festival of Tripura?
A week of worship of the fourteen gods, the dynastic deity of the Tripuri, at the Fourteen Gods temple in Old Agartala, with a fair beside it: 11–17 July 2027 (expected).
Sources (6)
- Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of Tripura: Garia Puja
- Government of Tripura: fairs and festivals (Garia)
- Government of Tripura: holidays list (Buisu, Garia Puja, Kharchi, Ker)
- All India Radio: Garia Puja celebrated across Tripura
- ANI via Punjab Kesari: state-level Baba Garia Festival in Agartala
- Tripuri people (Wikipedia): festivals
Facts checked: 21 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.