Every festival in India is associated with certain rituals and customs.
And these rituals are according to that particular region where the
festival is originated. Though there are certain festival, which are
celebrated across the country in that case every region celebrates it
according to their culture and traditions. Dugra puja is one such
festival, which is mostly celebrated in West Bengal but other parts of
the country celebrates it as Dussehra. Durga Puja is not only celebrated
in West Bengal but also among the Bengalis all around the world. It is
celebrated for a period of five days but the most important are the four
days of the festival. Starting from Mahasaptami, Mahaashtami, Mahanavami
and Bijoyadashami. Which is the seventh, eighth, ninth and the tenth day
of the festival. From the morning of Saptmi (the seventh day) the puja
starts. A banana tree is dressed in a yellow silk cloth with a red
border, which is carried by the priest in a grand procession to the to
the Ganges accompanied by the drummers to welcome the Goddess after the
bath she is taken to the Puja pandal and kept beside the idol of Lord
Ganesha (the God of Good fortune). The next day or Ashtami is considered
to be the most important day, as it is believed that Goddess Durga
killed demon Mahishasura on this day. A special puja is performed on
that time called the 'Sandhi Puja'. Earlier animals were also sacrificed
on this day. But nowadays it is not done.
The ninth day of the festival, Mahanavami is characterized by the
all-day 'pujas' and 'shaloka-recitals' and a 'Maha Arti' that is
considered a formal end of religious customs. Since it is the last day
before immersion of the idols so people are sad as it marks the end of
the glorious festival. Cultural programmes such as music and dance fill
the rest of the day. The tenth day, Dashami marks the end of the
festival with grand processions taken out on streets full of colors and
dance, where the Durga idols are taken for 'visarjan' (immersion in a
pond, river or sea). According to rituals idols are immersed in Ganges.
Since Ganges is regarded as a holy river. Dussehra is also associated
with the harvest festival of the agrarian societies and is believed to
be the beginning of New Year in some communities.
