Pujo in Dhaka

Durga Pujo is the most important festival celebrated by Bengalis all over the world. Spread over five days, the Pujo celebrates the power of female Shakti symbolised by the Goddess Durga who slayed the demon Mahishasur to restablish peace and sanctity on the earth. Durga Pujo also includes the worship of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Ganpati and Kartikeya (Godess Durga's children).

As past of the modern traditions, the Pujo includes the display of decorated pandals and idols that are done artistically and beautifully. The process of creation of the idols for worship is supervised by rites and rituals. Fashioned out of clay, the eyes of the idols are painted on mahalya or the first day of Puja. It is a very auspicious time and before painting the eyes, the artisans fast for a day and eat only vegetarian food.The pujo begins with Mahalaya, inviting the Goddess to descend to Earth and be with her worshipers. 

On the seventh day from the Mahalaya, on Shaptami, Mother Durga ascends to the earth from her abode in the Himalayas and the ritual of Pran Pratashthan or breathing of life into the idol takes place.

Bangladesh, which comprises of 10% Hindus, also celebrates the festival with a lot of religious and cultural fervor  All over the country, there are more than 28000 instances of the Pujo celebrations, with Dhaka alone accounting for 200 pandals.

The Pujo celebration at the Dhakeshwari temple in Puran (old) Dhaka are beautiful with the Dhak (cylindrical drum) players  providing the perfect background score for the myriad religious rites. The temple is the main Hindu temple in Dhaka and dates from the 12th century. It is also the place, where the idols from the other pandals are brought togther on the tenth day of the celebration to begin the procession to the Sadarghat to be immersed in the waters of the Buriganga river. The immersion is symbolic of the fact that the mother goddess is returning to her abode in the Himalayas.

Apart from the Dhakeshwari temple, the other most popular destinations to catch a glimpse of the Pujo are the Jagannath Hall of the Dhaka University, Ramna Kali Mandir, Kalabagan ground, the banani grounds and the temples of Tanti Bazaar, Shankhari Bazaar and the Bangla Bazaar.