The Durga Puja 2013!

The Durga Puja was celebrated with great religious fervor by people of all communities especially the Bengalis all across the country. The Pujas in my hometown of Udaipur, Rajasthan too were full of festivities and the days from "Shasthi" or the 6th day (10th October) to the Bijoy Dashami or the 10th day (14th October)  went off in a flash with an array of cultural programs and religious ceremonies dotting all these 5 days. The Durga Puja culminated with the "Bishorjon" or the immersion of the idol of the deity, Goddess Durga and her family consisting of Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartik in various water bodies, for them to visit the mortal world again, next year.

Bindu Bhawan, Durga Puja

Along with all the fun and festivities, there were some gloomy news as well during the Pujas. At the oldest Durga Puja in Udaipur at the Bindu Bhawan, the house of the Bhattacharya family, this year the puja was held in spite the loss of the head of the family, Mr Apurva Bhattacharya, at a relatively young age of 61 years due to cardiac arrest. The puja at the venue naturally had an air of gloom and the warmth of Opu Kaku as I called Mr Bhattacharya, was thoroughly missed.

The evening Aarti was almost divine at Bindu Bhawan

On 13th of October, the Mitters lost their matriarch, Mrs Leena Mitter, at a sprightly young age of 95 years. She was a lady who lived her life to the fullest and more importantly on her own terms.
Boroma didu, as I called her, would be missed by one and all, for her love for life and the zest with which she lived it.

Below are some more images from the Durga Puja in Udaipur, this October 2013....

Banga Samaj, Durga Puja

  

Town Hall, Durga Puja