LUCKNOW, Sept. 30 -- Every year, as Durga Puja approaches, thousands of men and women from Bengal leave their homes and arrive in Lucknow, transforming the City of Nawabs into a hub of art, music, and seasonal livelihoods.

From idol sculptors and pandal decorators to dhakis - the traditional drummers - the festive season brings both cultural exchange and economic opportunity.

Durga Puja in Lucknow thrives on Bengali artists' idols, Pandals, and drumming. Over a month before the festival, makeshift workshops crop up across the city, where clay is moulded into idols of Goddess Durga. Skilled idol-makers, mostly hailing from districts like Kumartuli in Kolkata and rural parts of Nadia and Hoogly, begin work in open spaces or temporary shed...