West Bengal soaks in festive spirit on 'Durga Mahasaptami'

West Bengal soaked in the festive spirit on the occasion of 'Mahasaptami' which marks the beginning of the worship of Goddess Durga during her four-day sojourn on Earth.
The day started early with the taking out of banana plantains - 'Nabapatrika' (symbolising lord Ganesha's wife) for a ritual dip at nearest water bodies, as priests made arrangements for the day's worship of the Goddess and her celestial family.
After the morning rituals, worshippers offered 'Pushpanjali' (floral libations) to the Goddess amid chanting of mantras (hymns) later in the day.
Adding to the festive spirit, most community puja organisers hosted their neighbourhood to lunch featuring a variety of delicious vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare.

Heavy rains in the afternoon, played spoilsport for the revelers who ventured out early in the day to hang around the better-known community puja pandals.
Towards the evening, however, a clear sky encouraged pandal-hoppers to visit the big draw pandals and enjoy the illumination and feast their eyes on the decor.
Kolkata Police personnel, along with those of the city civic police, were deployed in strength near the big community pujas and busy intersections to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
In a message, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished people of the state a happy and peaceful Pujas.