As the sounds of blowing of conch shells, ululation, the beat of Dhaks and the fragrance of incense fill the air, Hindu devotees paid tribute to Goddess Durga, the “destroyer of evil”. And yet there was a melancholy mood in the air as they prepared to bid her adieu on the morning of Dashami.
On Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, married women at puja venues across the capital formally bade farewell to the goddess by touching Sindoor, or vermilion, to her feet, offering Anjali (a ritual to offer devotion to the divine power) and taking part in the traditional Sindoor Khela.
The Dashami rituals and Darpan Bisarjan, or symbolic immersion through a mirror, mark the conclusion of the rites for the goddess’s farewell. Devotees began thronging puja venues across Dhaka from the morning.
Hundreds of women gathered at the Gulshan-Banani Puja Pavillion at Kemal Ataturk Park in Banani to offer Sindoor to the goddess. Their ritual trays contained vermilion, betel leaves, flowers and sweets, while some carried conch shells, lamps and pitchers.
One by one, the women went up to the stage, touched sweets to the goddess’s lips and applied Sindoor to her. The pavillion grounds reverberated with the beat of Dhaks and ululation.
Explaining the sequence of the puja and the significance of Dashami, Sunil Chakraborty, chief priest of the Gulshan-Banani Puja Pavillion, said: “Today is Dashami Puja, the time to bid farewell to the goddess. We began the prescribed Dashami worship of Goddess Durga at 8:05am. Shyama Puja, Aparajita Puja and Durga Puja were performed along with the worship of all the deities.”
“After the religious rituals, Darpan Bisarjan was performed and devotees offered their final Pushpanjali (flower offerings) at the feet of the goddess.”
Highlighting the significance of Sindoor Khela, one of the main attractions of Dashami, the priest said: “The festival of Sindoor Khela is essentially observed to pray for the long life and wellbeing of husbands. According to Hindu scriptural belief, offering Sindoor to the goddess brings longevity to one’s husband. Following tradition, only married women will take part in Sindoor Khela after 10am.”
After the rituals and Anjali were completed, Sindoor Khela began around 10:30am. Devotees first offered Sindoor to Durga and then joined in the festivities, smearing vermilion on one another’s foreheads and cheeks.
They sang and danced in praise of “Anandamoyee”, another name for the goddess, and chanted slogans hailing Durga.
The mood of celebration tinged with farewell was not limited to Banani, with similar scenes unfolding at other temples across the capital.
At Ramna Kali Mandir around 11am, the temple grounds were teeming with thousands of devotees.
While some performed the farewell Arati and offered their final Anjali at the feet of the goddess, others danced and sang on the grounds of the temple’s sprawling Puja pavilion.
The temple premises reverberated with the rhythm of dhaks, sounds of conch shells and ululation. Men, young people and children joined the women in the festivities.
Husbands also applied Sindoor to their wives’ foreheads, praying for the wellbeing of their families.
Anindita Debnath, who came to the temple with her husband, said: “I prayed to the Mother to keep everyone healthy and well throughout the year. There is a special joy in celebrating Sindoor Khela together, which is why I come here every year.”
Even as the sadness of farewell descended, a group of young people could be heard chanting, “It will happen again next year, you must return year after year.”
Arghya Roy, who was dancing and singing with friends at Ramna Kali Mandir, said: “Even though the farewell tune is playing, Mother (the goddess) will return. So instead of being sad, we celebrate. With the hope that ‘it will happen again next year’, we are trying to make Durga’s farewell memorable too.”
At Dhakeshwari National Temple, too, an atmosphere of devotion and melancholy prevailed from the morning.
The formal worship of Durga concluded at 9:57am with the prescribed Dashami Puja and Darpan Bisarjan. Devotees then began the ritual of Devi Baran, or bidding farewell to the goddess, at 11am.
Sindoor Khela began at noon after the Baran ritual. Dressed in red-and-white saris, women joined the celebration to the beat of dhaks, smearing vermilion on one another’s cheeks and foreheads and praying for their husbands’ longevity and their families’ wellbeing.
Devotees became emotional as they gathered at Puja pavilions to bid farewell to the goddess.
Rimpa Sen, a devotee at the Banani pavilion, said: “We wait all year for these few days. They seem to have passed in the blink of an eye! My heart feels heavy thinking that the Mother is leaving, but I believe she will protect us from all dangers and return next year with a message of peace.”
Sucharita Chowdhury, another devotee, said after Sindoor Khela: “I touched Sindoor to the Mother’s feet and prayed for the wellbeing of everyone in my family and for my husband’s long life. This Sindoor Khela of Bijoya is not merely a tradition; it also strengthens the bonds of harmony and affection among us.”
Debabrata Chakraborty, a devotee at Ramna Kali Mandir, said: “The sound of the drums for the immersion always leaves a void in my heart. My final prayer to the Mother (Goddess Durga) on Bijoya is that she removes all unrest and evil from the world and keeps everyone in peace.”
The day also saw the traditional exchange of Bijoya greetings. Younger people touched the feet of their elders to seek blessings, while people of the same age embraced one another and exchanged sweets and Bijoya greetings.
Tapas Kumar Pal, vice-president of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sarbojanin Puja Committee, told bdnews24.com that the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad had instructed organisers to complete the immersion of idols before evening, taking security considerations into account.
Tapas said a procession carrying the idol from Dhakeshwari Temple would begin around 4pm. It would travel through Palashi, Jagannath Hall, Doel Chattar, Gulistan intersection, Nawabpur Road and Raisaheb Bazar before reaching Wiseghat.
The 10-armed Goddess Durga arrives on earth as a “daughter” on Mahalaya and is bid farewell for a year through immersion. Between her “arrival and departure”, Durga Puja is celebrated from Shashthi to Dashami during the waxing phase of the lunar month of Ashwin.
According to Hindu belief, Durga returns from her “parental home” with her sons and daughters to Kailash, her “husband’s home”, following the immersion.
She will return to earth with the arrival of autumn a year later.