Most Durga Puja idols are immersed on Vijayadashami, symbolising the Goddess’s return to her divine realm. But in Varanasi’s Madanpura Bengali Tola, a curious exception: the same Durga idol, crafted in 1767, remains in her shrine, year after year.

As the story goes, in 1767, on Vijayadashami, the Mukhopadhyay (now Mukherjee) family attempted to carry the idol to the Ganges for immersion. Despite ropes and strong men, the idol would not budge. That night, Goddess Durga is said to have appeared in a dream, saying she wished to stay permanently in Kashi. From then on, the family ceased the immersion ritual; instead the idol is worshipped in place, throughout the year, with daily pooja, aarti, and offerings.

This six-foot ek-chala (single-roofed) clay idol with her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik, Ganesha has remained central to the Purana Durga Puja, drawing devotees from Varanasi and beyond. The shrine also houses older relics: an 11th-century granite Vishnu image, and dozens of Shiva lingas unearthed beneath the ground.

What began as a family affair now holds a unique place in Varanasi’s spiritual map a timeless tradition of permanence in an otherwise cyclical festival. Devotees, artists, and families return each year, sustaining devotion, heritage, and the living presence of Goddess in Kashi.