Sharadiya Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindu community, will begin in Bangladesh on Wednesday (Oct 9) with invocation of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shasthi at temples and makeshift mandaps across the country amid due religious fervor and festivity. The annual five-day 'Sharadiyo Durgotsab' will commence with Kalparambho in the morning which will be followed by various other rituals including Adhibash, Amantran (invitation) in the late afternoon on that day.
On Oct 10, on the second day of the celebration, 'Maha Saptami' Puja will be held in the morning as nabapatrika, nine plants including a banana tree tied together and wrapped in a white saree with red borders, and bathed in the water of the holy Ganges will be placed next to Ganesha on that day. On the third day of 'Maha Ashtami' on Oct 11, different rituals including 'Ashtami Puja', offering Anjali, Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja will be held in the early hours.
'Maha Nabami' tithi will also begin on the same day this year and it will last till 6:12 a.m. on Oct 12. So rituals of Maha Nabami will be performed on the both days. Rituals of Dashami Puja will also be held on Oct 12 this year. The festival will end on Oct 13 with immersion of idols in nearby rivers or ponds.
A festive mood is in the air across the country on the eve of Sharadiya Durga Puja. Hindus are waiting eagerly as the puja mandaps will be filled with devotional chants with the smoke of incense (Dhup), beating of drums (Dhak-Dhol), Kansar-Mandira and ululation (Uludhoni).
According to government data, Durga Puja will be celebrated at 32,666 mandaps across the country including 257 in the capital. In the capital, key Puja Mandaps would be at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Math and Mission, Banani, Kalabagan, Shakhari Bazar, Shiddeshwari Kali Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir, Jagannath Hall on Dhaka University campus, Khamar Bari at Farmgate, Lalbagh Rishipara, Rajarbagh Kalimandir and old part of Dhaka including Tanti Bazar. Apart from religious rituals, performance of devotional songs, clothes distribution, Aroti competition, voluntary blood donation will be arranged at Dhakeshwari National Temple.
Sharadiya Durga Puja will also be celebrated in large scale in major divisional cities including port city Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet and district towns including Faridpur, Dinajpur, Jashore, Kushtia, Satkhira for celebration of Durga Puja.
As per the Hindu texts, during Treta Yuga, Lord Rama Chandra fought with Dashanan Ravana. Rama Chandra worshiped Goddess Adyashakti Mahamaya (Debi Durga) in autumn hoping to increase her strength with the aim of annihilation of sins and Rama Chandra was able to rescue Goddess Sita and kill Ravana after winning the battle. Since then, Hindu community members have been celebrating Durgotsab in the Autumn.
Foolproof security measures will be ensured across the country during Durga Puja celebration. A central police control room will be set up at the Dhakeswari national temple premises likewise every year for monitoring overall security at puja mandaps in the capital.
