Durga Puja Begins On Mahashasti

Bengal's biggest festival Durga Puja began today with the rituals of'Mahashasti,'in which the Goddess is welcomed to her earthly abode.

Neighbourhoods woke up to the roll of'dhak'(drums) under a clear autumn sky as priests invoked Goddess Durga and her family to descend on earth and help good triumph over evil.

As the day advanced, people took to the streets and by dusk, tens of thousands of people were seen at the community puja shamianas, all vying to steal the show with their aesthetic construction and dazzling lighting.

In the metropolis, city police personnel were on the roads in strength to control the crowds while the Metro Railway operated more services to cope with the Puja rush.

Metro sources said along with the electronic tokens introduced recently, passengers not familiar them were also being offered the option of buying printed paper tickets for which separate counters have been set up.

From: http://ping.fm/5CpEO