Durga puja is regarded as the most important festival of West Bengal. The city of Kolkata dresses up in a new look for the five days of the festival. The celebration lasts for five days starting from Maha Shashti (the sixth day) and ends with Bijoya Dashami (the tenth day). The first day of the celebration starts with Bodhon on Maha-Shashti, which is like welcoming Goddess Durga to our homes and ends with immersing the idols in the nearby rivers, lakes and seas on the evening of Dashami. Immersing the idols in the sacred waters of the River Ganges signifies the end of the festivities and the year-long wait for the next Puja starts from that day itself.
According to mythology Goddess Durga descends to the Earth on Shashthi and returns to her abode on Dashami. The clear blue sky, the cool pleasant air, the beautiful fragrance of Shiuli (a type of seasonal flower), the lush green fields and chanting of mantras and shlokas of the Goddess of Shakti, all sum up together to create the perfect ambience for the celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis. The preparations for the festival are done way in advance as beautiful pandals are build in different areas of the city. These are mainly community pujas, which areheavily financed by the local people or sponsorship from big corporate houses. Even the idol making also starts way in advance. Clay idols of Bengal are famous worldwide; especially for the traditional way in which they are made. The people of Bengal start preparing for the festival from Mahalaya (the starting of the festive season) they decorate homes; buy gifts for friends and relatives and new clothes for themselves and relatives for the festival. The shopping plaza and markets are totally packed up since one month before the festival.
According to mythology Goddess Durga descends to the Earth on Shashthi and returns to her abode on Dashami. The clear blue sky, the cool pleasant air, the beautiful fragrance of Shiuli (a type of seasonal flower), the lush green fields and chanting of mantras and shlokas of the Goddess of Shakti, all sum up together to create the perfect ambience for the celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis. The preparations for the festival are done way in advance as beautiful pandals are build in different areas of the city. These are mainly community pujas, which areheavily financed by the local people or sponsorship from big corporate houses. Even the idol making also starts way in advance. Clay idols of Bengal are famous worldwide; especially for the traditional way in which they are made. The people of Bengal start preparing for the festival from Mahalaya (the starting of the festive season) they decorate homes; buy gifts for friends and relatives and new clothes for themselves and relatives for the festival. The shopping plaza and markets are totally packed up since one month before the festival.
DURGA PUJA
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