The five-day Durga Puja, the greatest religious festival of the Hindus, will end Monday with solemn immersion of the goddess Durga in the capital and elsewhere in the country.
Devotees are seen to throng the puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the festival, from the morning.
The beating of drums and cymbals, intricately designed idols of Durga and drifts of incense lent the mandaps across the country a festive air as devotees Sunday celebrated Maha Navami.
Each of the mandaps across the country has been adorned with beautiful idols.
Skilled artisans and artists have crafted those and showcased the goddess in all her glory.
Devotees are reciting the mantras and offering flowers (pushpanjali) to the goddess Durga and pray for her blessings.
Bijoya Dashami is the special ceremony of reaffirming peace and good relations among people.
On this day, families visit each other to share sweetmeats. Married Hindu women put vermilion (sindoor) on each other’s forehead on the occasion.
In the capital, thousands of people will throng the Buriganga in the afternoon to observe the final phase of the festival — the immersion of the goddess Durga.
Shouldering the idol of the goddess Durga, devotees will go into waist-deep water into the river and immerse the mother deity.
Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival also known as Sharadiya (autumnal) Durga Utsav, is the worship of “Shakti” [divine force] embodied in goddess Durga.
It symbolises the battle between good and evil where the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine.
The state-run and private television channels and radios have been broadcasting special programmes since the morning while newspapers will publish special supplements marking the significance of Bijoya Dashami.
A total of 28,000 puja pandals had been erected across the country to observe the Durga puja festival this year.
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