Fahmida Khanam
Durga Puja is a festival celebrating the home coming of the Hindu Goddess Durga. Durga Puja is prevalent throughout the Hindu community all over the world. However, it is one of the most important religious and social festivals in Bangalee Hindu community. Durga puja is performed in the month of Ashwin or Chaitra.
The Durga Puja of the Ashwin month is known as the Shardiya Durgapuja and the Durga Puja of the Chaitra month is Basanti Durgapuja. Shardia Durga Puja is more popular. Durga Puja is celebrated in the Indian subcontinent and multiple states of the world, including India, Bangladesh and Nepal. However, Durga Puja is celebrated with great splendor in West Bengal and Tripura states of India as the main religious festival of Bangalee Hindu community.
In the time of Durga Puja the artisans pass a busy time making the clay images of Goddess Durga, and others. In Dhaka, the largest number of devotees is expected to be seen in the five-day festival at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Mission and Math, Kalabagan, Banani, Shakhari Bazar, Dhaka University Jagannath Hall and Dhanmondi Puja mandaps.
The mandaps are decorated with colourful lights, artificial flowers, festoons, banners and paintings at the entrance to welcome devotees and guests. VVIPs and foreign guests also visit the mandaps. Durga Puja was once confined to Kotwali area of old Dhaka. But for the past few years, Durga Puja is being organised in the entire Dhaka city.
Security will be doubled in all Puja mandaps throughout the country, including the capital, with the deployment of additional squads of Ansars, police, RAB and other law enforcers for peaceful celebration of the festival. Besides, voluntary groups will also perform duties at the Puja mandaps. All the Puja committees will install close circuit cameras and metal detectors at their mandap gates.
In Dhaka city the five-day festival is highly celebrated with devotional songs, distribution of clothes among the poor, distribution of Mohaprosad and many more things. It is expected that Durga Puja will be done in a very peaceful way like every year.
