Community feasts, pandal visits mark Maha Navami celebrations

Grand feasts and pandal-hopping marked the celebrations on Maha Navami - the penultimate day of the five-day Durga puja festival - with revellers seen lining up before prominent pandals in the city, mostly dressed in traditional outfits. At Ekdalia Evergreen and College Square, two of the many big-ticket pujas in the city, people turned up in lakhs to catch a glimpse of the traditional artwork.

Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, who is the chief patron of Ekdalia Evergeen Puja, said, "Apart from the illumination and the traditional artwork, our puja is revered by the devotees as we follow the rituals very strictly." A mad scramble to enter the award-winning pandals was also witnessed in parts of Kolkata, where roads are choc-a- bloc with vehicles jostling for space. At Sovabazar Rajbari, one of the oldest household pujas in the city, there was heavy rush of devotees since morning to pay obeisance to the goddess.

Scores of community pujas made arrangements for sumptuous non-vegetarian feasts on the occasion. "Durga Puja days is about celebrations, fun and food, but there cannot be any laxity when it comes to observing the rituals. We make it a point to take care of both," said Ashwini Dutta, a member of Central Housing Enclave puja committee in south Kolkata..

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