Santiniketan Top 10 Best Durga Puja 2022 | Surul Rajbari Durga Puja 2022 | শান্তিনিকেতন দুর্গাপূজা

Indians work hard- typically six days a week, so when the festival season arrives, everyone is ready to don new clothes and celebrate. The Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the mythological demon Mahishasura, and is observed in the autumn months of September/October according to the Hindu solar calendar. It is the most important Bengali festival, and nowhere is it celebrated on a grander scale than in Santiniketan. Most of the city shuts down for the last four days of the festival, named Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami. Elaborate pandals are installed throughout the city to welcome Mother Durga. The word pandal means a temporary structure, made of bamboo and cloth, which is used as a temple for the purpose of the puja. Pandal-hopping is an annual tradition where locals and tourists visit the city’s displays, many of which are enormous and intricate works of art. Lights also play a key role in the festival, and as such, most of the celebrating is done in the evening, often lasting through the night. Traffic comes to a standstill, trains are overflowing and the streets are packed with people. All of the idols are made of clay, which is typically taken from the banks of the Ganges river. They are sculpted and then delicately painted. At the end of the festival, the statues are returned to the Ganges in a ceremonial immersion that represents Durga’s return to her husband, Shiva. There has been an environmental concern about this practice in recent years, as the paint and adornments pollute the river. Efforts are being made to use non-toxic paint, although it is not yet wide-spread. #durgapuja #Santiniketan #westbengal