Colours of Celebration: The Winners of Wiki Loves Bangla 2026

Hundreds of people sit in long, orderly rows at Masjid Al Mustafa in Dhaka, waiting to break their fast during Ramadan. Seen from above, the gathering takes on an almost geometric form: parallel lines of worshippers and shared tables fill the mosque’s illuminated centre, framed by the sweeping curves of its architecture and the darkness beyond.

The photograph, taken by Rakibul Alam Khan, is the winner of Wiki Loves Bangla 2026. It captures a familiar communal tradition from an unexpected perspective, bringing together faith, shared experience and visual symmetry in a single frame. The orderly gathering is not only a record of iftar, but also a reflection of how festivals and observances bring communities together—an idea that runs throughout this year’s winning photographs.

The jury was particularly drawn to the relationship between the congregation and the architecture surrounding it. Biswarup Ganguly highlighted how the parallel rows of people complement the symmetry of the setting, while Abdul Momin praised the architectural framing and composition, though he noted that the large dark areas around the gathering slightly weaken the overall visual balance.

Together with the other winning photographs—from religious observances and rural festivals to folk traditions and communal celebrations—the image opens a wider visual story of how communities across Bengal celebrate, worship, gather and sustain their cultural traditions.

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Wiki Loves Bangla is part of the wider Wiki Loves movement, bringing photographers and Wikimedia contributors together to document the culture, heritage and everyday life of the Bengal region through freely licensed images. Since its launch in 2024, the competition has focused on a different aspect of Bengali life each year, gradually building an expanding visual archive that can be freely accessed, shared and reused around the world.

In 2026, Wiki Loves Bangla turned its lens towards “Festivals of Bengal“, inviting participants to document the rituals, gatherings, performances and traditions that shape cultural life across the wider Bengali region. From religious observances and folk festivals to rural traditions, processions and community celebrations, the theme offered a broad view of the many ways people across Bengal come together, celebrate and sustain their cultural practices.

Wiki Loves Bangla is organised by Bangla WikiMoitree under the Bangla Culture and Heritage Collation Program, a collaborative initiative of Wikimedia Bangladesh and the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group. Through the competition, photographs of regional traditions are not only recognised and celebrated but also preserved as freely licensed knowledge on Wikimedia Commons, where they can continue to support Wikimedia projects, education, research, publications and other forms of cultural documentation.

Held from 14 April to 15 May 2026, this year’s competition drew 364 participants, including 258 newcomers, who contributed 2,888 photographs and 15 videos. Following the review and evaluation process, ten photographs were selected as the winners of Wiki Loves Bangla 2026.

First place — Moment of Restraint

Seen from above, hundreds of fasting people gather in long, orderly rows for iftar at Masjid Al Mustafa in Dhaka during Ramadan 2025. As the sun sets and the call to prayer echoes through the air, they come together around shared tables to break their fast. The long rows of people and food create a striking visual rhythm, while the architecture frames the gathering from above. Beyond its geometric symmetry, the photograph captures a moment of community and connection, where hundreds of people come together in faith, gratitude and shared tradition.

The jury’s comments reflect that balance between visual precision and human scale. Biswarup Ganguly highlighted the way the parallel rows of people echo the symmetry of the surrounding architecture. Abdul Momin similarly praised the framing and symmetry, while noting that the surrounding darkness occupies a large part of the frame.

Second place — Fire and Smoke

Rows of lamps glow through a haze of smoke as devotees gather at Baba Lokenath Brahmachari Ashram in Narayanganj for Rakher Upobash, also known as Kartik Vrat. As they light lamps and take part in prayers before breaking their fast, the gathering becomes a scene of fire, devotion and shared ritual. A standing figure rises above the seated worshippers at the centre of the frame, surrounded by the warm glow of countless lamps. The smoke softens the background and deepens the atmosphere, while the repeating rows of lights and people create a striking sense of rhythm and scale. Beyond its dramatic lighting, the photograph captures a deeply communal moment of faith and devotion.

Abdul Momin praised the strong atmosphere, engaging central figure and dramatic lighting, noting how the light strengthens both colour and mood. Jury member Timothy A. Gonsalves was similarly drawn to the combination of flames, smoke and rows of people. Biswarup Ganguly’s preference lay with another image from the same subject, illustrating how close the jury’s choices could be even among highly regarded photographs.

Third place — Durga Through the Circle

A child plays with a tyre in front of a decorated Durga Puja idol at a traditional mud house. Seen through the tyre’s circular opening, the idol becomes the visual focal point, while the child’s movement adds a sense of everyday life and spontaneity to the scene.

The unconventional viewpoint is the photograph’s defining feature. Abdul Momin praised the way the tyre encircles Durga, creating depth and a strong narrative structure. Timothy A. Gonsalves also highlighted the framing, composition and perspective. Biswarup Ganguly offered a more reserved reading. While acknowledging the creativity of the perspective, he felt that some elements of the child’s posture and appearance made the action seem less spontaneous.

Fourth place — The Arrival of Durga

Amid fields of autumnal kash flowers, a Durga idol is carried through rural Bengal on the shoulders of devotees, accompanied by the rhythmic beats of dhaks. The surrounding landscape gives the procession a distinctly seasonal and rural character, while the low perspective adds a sense of movement and presence to the scene.

Abdul Momin praised the image’s cultural storytelling, vibrant colour contrast and the natural border created by the kash grass and hillside. He also noted that the low angle gives the procession a grand, celebratory presence, though the harsh midday light creates deep facial shadows and hides some visual detail. Timothy A. Gonsalves found the composition more conventional, describing it as a good photograph without a single element that strongly stood out to him. Biswarup Ganguly similarly observed that although everything is carefully placed within the frame, the limited sense of dynamic action makes the scene feel somewhat posed.

Fifth place — A Circle of Lamps

A group of newly ordained Buddhist śramaṇas perform the traditional lamp-lighting ritual during Prabarana Purnima. Seen from above, they sit around the glowing lamps, their robes forming a near-circular arrangement around the warm centre of light.

The high-angle perspective gives the photograph much of its character. Abdul Momin praised its composition, low-key glowing light, symmetry and storytelling. He did, however, note that the additional candles towards the upper-right draw some attention away from the main circular arrangement. Biswarup Ganguly similarly felt that the separate square arrangement of lamps near the top of the frame distracted from the central composition.

Sixth place — Sea of ​​Worshippers

Thousands of worshippers fill Gor-E-Shahid Eidgah Maidan in Dinajpur for Eid prayer, creating an immense field of colour when seen from above. According to the organisers’ claim, more than 600,000 devotees participated in the Eid-ul-Fitr congregation. The scale is the first thing that commands attention. Individual worshippers become part of a vast patterned congregation stretching across the frame.

Abdul Momin praised the aerial perspective and the striking repetition of colour and form, while noting that the blue-pink cast in the white balance distracts slightly from the scene. Timothy A. Gonsalves felt that the decision to include such a large number of devotees gives the photograph its immediate visual impact. For Biswarup Ganguly, the drone perspective transforms the congregation into a “human mosaic”—an orderly arrangement that becomes a powerful visual expression of the festival.

Seventh place — Dance of Karam

In Purulia, colour and movement fill the frame as devotees gather to worship the god Karam during Karam Parab, a traditional festival celebrated at the end of the monsoon season and deeply rooted in the region’s community life.

Abdul Momin described the photograph as a vibrant cultural scene filled with energy and tradition, while noting some chromatic aberration and loss of detail in the highlights. Timothy A. Gonsalves highlighted its colourful depiction of cultural dance. Biswarup Ganguly was particularly drawn to the sense of movement, describing it as a vibrant action photograph that captures the spirit of the dance within its authentic village setting.

Eighth place — Face of Gajan

Unlike many of the other winning photographs, which show broad gatherings or ceremonial spaces, this image moves close to its subject. A performer’s face fills the frame at the Gajan Festival in West Bengal, surrounded by vivid colour and streaks of movement. The close perspective turns makeup, costume and expression into the visual language of the photograph, while a slow-shutter technique creates light trails across the face, adding rhythm and a stronger sense of movement to the image.

Abdul Momin praised the close-up, particularly the dynamic light trails and rich colours. Biswarup Ganguly described it as a spontaneous festive portrait, noting that although the expression itself is relatively neutral, the slow-shutter motion blur adds a convincing sense of speed and spontaneity.

Ninth place — Fishing with the Polo

Hundreds of fishermen and villagers move together through the shallow wetlands of Bhangura in Pabna during the Polo Bawa festival. At the centre of the tradition is the polo, a bell- or cone-shaped fishing implement traditionally made from bamboo or cane. During the fishing, groups enter the water together and use the polo to catch fish, turning a traditional fishing practice into a large communal event. The scene also reflects the enduring rural culture of Bengal, where community participation, local folk traditions and a close relationship with nature remain central to the festival.

The photograph transforms that activity into an atmospheric landscape. Abdul Momin was drawn to the elegant silhouettes and warm monochrome palette. Timothy A. Gonsalves singled out the lighting and composition, while Biswarup Ganguly praised the candid public moment, its composition and the environmental context surrounding it.

Tenth place — Moichhara in Motion

A farmer races across a waterlogged field behind a decorated pair of oxen during the Moichara festival, as mud and water fly around them. The tradition takes its name from the Bengali word moi, an agricultural implement used to level cultivated land. During the competition, farmers stand on a moi while driving a pair of oxen through a muddy field. Usually held during the monsoon season, Moichara connects rural festivity with agricultural life. The speed of the oxen, the splashing water and the excitement of the crowd make the event more than a competition, reflecting Bengal’s agricultural culture, rural traditions and enduring connection to the land.

The photograph captures that energy at its peak. The oxen surge forward, the farmer follows their momentum, and the muddy field becomes part of the action. Where the winning photograph begins with stillness and order, the tenth-place image closes the top ten with speed, water and movement.

A wider portrait of Bengal’s living heritage

Taken together, the winning photographs resist any single definition of a Bengali festival. They move from Ramadan iftar and Eid prayer to Buddhist observance, Durga Puja, Rakher Upobash, Karam and Gajan. Elsewhere, communities fish together in wetlands, while farmers race oxen across monsoon fields. Some photographs capture gatherings of thousands; others focus on a small group or a single face.

That diversity was central to the 2026 competition. The submitted photographs documented festivals across Bangladesh and West Bengal, reflecting differences in ritual, clothing, environment, folk traditions and forms of community participation.

Wiki Loves Bangla also treats these images as more than competition entries. Photographs submitted to the contest are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence, making them available for reuse across Wikimedia projects, education, research, publications and other forms of cultural documentation.

This is where the lasting value of the collection becomes especially clear. A festival may last for a day, an evening or a season, but a well-documented photograph can continue to preserve and communicate its story long after the moment itself has passed.

Across all ten winning photographs, Wiki Loves Bangla 2026 brings together individual moments, traditions and places to create a broader visual record of how communities across Bengal celebrate, gather, worship, work and sustain their cultural heritage.

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See the Winners and Finalists of Wiki Loves Bangla 2026.