The six-day Durga Puja, the biggest annual religious festival of Bengali Hindus, has ended with the solemn immersion of the goddess Durga in the capital and other parts of the country.
The immersion of idols on Wednesday, according to Hindu belief, signified Durga’s return journey to her heavenly abode in Kailash from her paternal home on earth.
Temples and puja venues across Bangladesh, filled with fun and merriment due to the festivity in the last five days, witnessed an air of melancholy on Wednesday as the puja ended with Bijoya Dashami.
Bijoya rituals began at the Dhakeshwari National Temple in the morning as the devotees prayed to the goddess for their welfare amid the sounds of drums and conch shells, marking the last day of the puja.
“Mahisasura (the buffalo demon) lost the battle with the goddess, and she killed him. She attained Bijoy or victory on this day, so we call it Bijoya,” Tapan Bhattacharya, the chief priest of the Dhakeshwari Temple, told the Daily Sun.
“We offered our puja with ten ingredients on the day of Dashami and ended the ritual with immersion in the mirror (ghot). You can call this the immersion of the goddess’ reflection. We offered anjali following the immersion,” he added.
Hindu women offered sweets, milk and vermilion to the goddess Durga in the morning. They played with vermilion on the morning of Bijoya.
Married women took part in the ritual where they had fun and sought long life for their husbands and blessings for their families, while young girls also joined them dancing with drum beats to add extra vigor in the celebrations.
People of the Hindu community decorated their houses and arranged special prayers as well. They later visited residences of their friends and relatives and exchanged sweets to share the joy of the festival.
In Dhaka, the immersion ceremony took place on Wednesday afternoon as devotees brought out a victory procession from the Palashi intersection to the old town’s Waiz Ghat area with idols carried in trucks and pickups for immersion.
With the rhythm of drums, they danced and offered final arati to the deity before taking her to the middle of Buriganga to immerse.
Besides, the idol was immersed in 32 more ghats or spots in the capital, where around 16,000 police members were deployed, said Md Shahidullah, Joint Commissioner (Operation) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Law enforcement agencies took strict security measures to ensure a peaceful end to Durga Puja. They stopped the operation of all launches, trawlers and bulkheads, used flashlights and drones and kept divers in every boat to maintain safety in the process.
Durga idols were immersed all across the country, including in four different spots of Chattogram. Police and other law enforcement agencies worked there to ensure a peaceful conclusion of the celebration.
In celebration of the festival, the country's newspapers published special content, while television channels telecast and radio stations aired special programmes.
This year, the joy of Durga Puja has been multiplied with the celebration of Maha Saptami in two separate days. The annual grand day Sharodiya Durgotsab began with the incarnation (Bodhon) of goddess Durga on the day of Maha Sashthi on Friday. Maha Saptami puja was performed on Saturday and Sunday, and Maha Astami on Monday.
Besides, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government increased the allocation for puja significantly apart from extending Durga Puja holidays for three days before a two-day weekend for the first time in history.
In Bangladesh this year, the religious festival was celebrated at some 33,851 puja mandaps across the country, including 258 in Dhaka.