IN PICS: Mahashtami celebrated with fervour in Kolkata

'Mahashtami', considered the most auspicious of the four-day pujas, was ushered in on Monday with 'anjali' to Goddess Durga to the beat of drums.

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With the weather remaining dry, lakhs of people milled around puja pandals with some enterprising puja committees constructing replicas of famous structures from across the country.

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The famous Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, marble Durga temple blending Gujarati and Bengali architectural styles and Sripuram Lakshinarayani temple among others came alive on the streets of Kolkata.

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At Belur Math on the banks of the river Hoooghly in neighbouring Howrah district, 'Kumari Puja' was held as per the custom started by Ramakrishna Paramahansha in the late 19th century.

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The puja, offered to a little girl as the mother goddess by the Ramakrishna Mission monks, was watched by thousands of devotees before partaking of mahaprasad.

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