Traditionally a ten-day festival, Durga Puja 2018 is one of the most lavishly celebrated festivals in India. The seventh month of the Hindu calendar Ashvina accounts for the time of arrival of the Durga Puja 2018 festival. Bengal, Assam and several other states in the Eastern part of India witness the grand celebration of the festival throughout the ten-day span. Durga Puja depicts the victory of Maa Durga over the demon Mahishasura which marks the Ravan Dehan on the tenth day of the festival or popularly referred to a Dusshera. Durga Puja in Kolkata is most famous places to visit in Durga Puja 2018.
When Is Durga Puja 2018
Durga Puja In Kolkata
Famous Places To Visit In Durga Puja 2018
Durga Puja 2018 Rituals
Tarpan Durga Puja 2018
Kumari Puja Durga Puja 2018
Vijayadashami Durga Puja 2018
Tips For Durga Puja 2018
The festival of Durga Puja 2018 is celebrated all over India, yet Kolkata hails in its celebration. The first day named as Mahalaya is deemed as the invitation given to the Goddess to step on Earth. 9th October 2018 will mark the day. The next day resonates the start of the festival and the is celebrated with excitement from 15th October 2018 as Shashti to 18th October 2019 as the Durga Navami. The next day is the assassination of the demon and the day 19th October 2018 would be celebrated as Dussehra.
Durga Puja In Kolkata is known for its traditional way of celebrating Durga Puja, people in Kolkata wait for the festival to arrive. One of the largest festival celebrated by the Bengalis. The city would be filled with people socializing with the friends and family for ten days. The decorated pandals mark the glory of the city, people hop day and night, seeing the ice, worshipping the goddess and indulge in mouth-watering dishes. The first day being the Chokkhu Daan when the Goddess is invited to Earth.
People in Durga Puja In Kolkata believe that on this day, Maa enters through the eyes of the idols made. Kumartuli is the place where a majority of idols are crafted by skilled painters. The sixth day or the MahaSaptimi marks the gala opening of famous pandals by eminent people. Hymns, rituals and the sound of Dhak and Dhol turn the city dancing at the beats. Durga Puja in Kolkata is a totally unique lifetime memory.
On the tenth day, the women indulge into Sindoor Khela, many turn emotional as it is the time to bid farewell to the Goddess and send her back to her home. Myriads of crowd club together to celebrate the last day of the festival and bid adieu to Maa Durga. A grand procession towards the huge ghats ends the festival leaving people with teary eyes. This is how the Durga Puja in Kolkata is celebrated.
With the advent of Mahalaya, cities start resonating with the sound of Dhol and the rumbling sound of the dandiya sticks. People across the nation are set in the mood to spend the next few days rejoicing and dancing at the beats of Lok Geet. Navratri defines Nine Nights spend worshipping the goddess Durga and celebrating the victory of feminine power. However, Navratri is not for only the Gujaratis or the Bengalis, it is celebrated across the nation rather across the globe in a varied way to reign the victory of evil over good. Durga Puja in Kolkata is must place to visit in Durga Puja 2018.
The festival food which the people in Gujarat wait for throughout the year. The nine days of rejoicing, dancing, singing, and dressing in traditional wear, Gujarat resembles the city of Maa Shakti. People are all excited to worship Maa Durga and please her with the Dandiya Raas. Women light Diyas in pots with holes known as Garbi and performance arts. The Dandiya or the Garba dance is what people wait for. The Speciality of the state, every corner tunes in the voice of Maa Durga.
After Gujarat, it is the state of Bengal and the adjacent neighbors that rejoices at the arrival of Maa Durga. The last four days calls for grand celebration and named as Saptami to Dashmi. Huge pandals worshipping the idol of Maa Durga specifies the celebration of the festival. The state glitters with a mesmerizing view and excellent experience of Pandal Hopping. The entire atmosphere echoes the sound of Dhol, Dhak, and Dhunuchi Naach.
The people in Tamil Nadu consider the nine authentic nights as the opportunity to seek blessing from the Goddess Durga, Saraswati, and Laxmi. One of the most ethnic ways of celebrating Durga Puja in Tamil Nadu is the decoration of Kolu. It is basically a staircase having a total of 9 stairs. This personifies nine days of the festival. Each stair is beautifully decorated with the idol of Maa Durga. A belief that exists among the people is that these idols placed in the stairs as dolls pass from generation to generation.
The celebration of Durga Puja in Andhra Pradesh is similar to the tradition in Tamil Nadu. The Kolu ritual is named as Bathukamma Panduga that means Come Alive Mother Goddess. The nine nights are celebrated in vibrant shades of women stacking up seasonal flowers. The last day, these Bathukamma are floated in lakes or rivers. Women all dress up in traditional clothes, jewelry, and perform the ritual.
Another state that experiences vibrant shades of celebration, Durga Puja in Maharashtra implies a new beginning. People buy new clothes, car or house during this time. Engagement is one common activity done, a ritual includes marries women putting kumkum and Haldi on the forehead of a single girl and give them betel leaves, nuts, and coconut. This personifies that the women would remain loyal to her husband and named as Saumangalayam. Maharashtra also hosts Garba dance and Dandiya nights.
The first day of the festival is named as Mahalaya that heralds the beginning of the festival and celebration ignites from the sixth day. The first three days, the goddess takes the form of Laxmi, Durga, and Saraswati to be worshipped. This impeccable celebration ends on the tenth day as Vijayadashami or Dussehra. Amidst the chants of people and the drumbeats, huge idols are taken to the rivers for immersion and people resonate with the voice of Come Again Maa Durga.
Main rituals of Durga Puja 2018 festival includes
The first-day Mahalaya depicts the home calling of Maa Durga. Amidst the chants and voice of Jago Tumi Jago, an invitation is sent for Maa Durga to descent down.
Maha Ashtami is the day when Kuwari Ladki is worshipped and people across the nation offer Anjali to Durga.
A holistic ritual held on the tenth day when all the Bengali women indulge into Sindoor Khela and immersion of the idol of Maa Durga. Chants of Ebar Esho Maa Durga.
Durga Puja 2018 is a festival which people across the nation celebrate with immense love and thrill. Streets are flooded with people and you would gala with the sight of pandals beautifully decorated with the idol of Maa Durga. The pandal is all crafted in a special theme depicting unique ideas. However, there are a few things you should not miss to do.
These include:
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