Kumari Puja

During the Durga Puja season, typically in October, Kiriteswari holds a Kumari Puja, the ritual worship of young girls as living embodiments of the goddess. Unusually, and in a striking declaration of the village's syncretic spirit, the ceremony includes girl children of all religions and castes, including Muslim families. This ritual, rooted in Shakta-Tantric tradition, also serves as a community affirmation of gender equality and the sacred status of girlhood.