Devotees all over the world will now be able to watch the unique Durga Puja of Belur Math, where a young girl is worshipped along with the goddess, as the Ramakrishna Mission has decided to stream it live on Internet.
The state that is soaked in the puja fervour, is all set to welcome Maa Durga on October 20.
The dizzying inflation has failed to dampen the spirit of the Durga Puja festivities in Assam. In capital Guwahati, puja organisers have outdone themselves and their efforts are visible in the opulent and colourful puja pandals across the city.
Banerjee said she will protect the minority people and their property.
Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal resumed their indefinite 'total cease work' on Tuesday to press for various demands, including ensuring their safety and security at all medical establishments.
The actress was spotted at various events in the city, escorted by husband Abhishek and parents-in-law Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.
Rani Mukerji attends the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja Samiti's Kali Puja with her family and friends.
All the 450 plus puja celebration committees in Guwahati city have been asked by the police to install close circuit television cameras to monitor and videograph crowd moverment in and around the puja pandals.
'Durga Puja is also a time to catch up on the gossip and when the girls of the family get together it's a beautiful feeling that is hard to describe.'
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
The five-day Durga Puja festival in West Bengal ended on Wednesday with people celebrating Bijaya Dashami which marked Goddess Durga's return to her husband's home.
Lakhan Singh and his neighbor Mithlesh Rai, both in their mid 50s, are cursing the floods in Bihar that has made them forgo Durga Puja celebrations in their village. They are two of hundreds of thousands of villagers in Bihar's Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani and Samastipur districts, which have been badly hit by floods.
Far from the rough and tumble of politics, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is in Kolkata at his ancestral home at Miriti in Birbhum district to perform Durga Puja as he has been doing every year.
"I extend puja greetings (Saradiyar Subhecchha) to all people and wish them well," a relaxed Mukherjee said while leaving for his ancestral home with his wife.
India has expressed serious concern over the increasing incidents of violence and extremist rhetoric against minorities in Bangladesh, urging the interim government to fulfill its responsibility of protecting all minorities. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that India has consistently raised the issue of threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladeshi government. Jaiswal emphasized that these developments cannot be dismissed as mere media exaggeration and called upon Bangladesh to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of minorities.
The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO in the heart of Kolkata's red light district, has decided to celebrate Durga Puja, reports Indrani Roy/Rediff.com.Speaking to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com, the sex workers say that they want to get rid of ostracisation and be allowed to celebrate Durga Puja just as others do.
Kolkata may host the most lavish Durga puja pandals in the country complete with elaborate decoration and dazzling illumination, but in Cuttack the puja is popular for the extravagance in style reflected in gold and silver work.
The actress is making most of the festive season.
Security has been beefed up in Mirati village of Birbhum district in view of President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to his ancestral house during the Durga puja rituals, official sources said on Friday.
Kajol and Rani Mukerji looked beautiful in shades of red, as they indulged in the Bengali ritual of Sindoor Khela at the North Bombay Sarbojanin's Durga puja pandal in Mumbai.
Taking corporatisation of Durga Puja festival to a new height, a prominent puja committee in Kolkata has sold the rights of the celebrations to a US company and roped in a Bollywood superstar as its brand ambassador.
Ma Durga might be the city's most celebrated annual visitor, but Kali is the resident Goddess, notes Sandip Roy.
'Perhaps the greatest curse that modern technology has inflicted on the people during the pujas is powerful public address systems that blare out songs which you have no option but to listen to,' says Subir Roy.
The Director General of Bangladesh's Border Guard (BGB), Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, has denied reports of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, calling them "exaggerated." He cited the peaceful celebration of Durga Puja as evidence and pointed to the security provided by BGB to minority communities. The BGB also raised objections to India's fencing along the border during the bi-annual talks with the BSF.
Banerjee, who also takes care of the home department, said Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal has offered to resign in the wake of the protests but "we need someone who knows law and order ahead of Durga puja".
Fish sellers of Chittranjan Park found themselves in a state of disbelief last week when the anti-meat overdrive of the Hindu right hit the local markets with a warning to shut shops because they were close to a temple.
The sound of the dhak is an essential part of Pujo celebrations, says Indrayanee Mukherjee.
Maa Durga's devotees hold one or more dhunuchis in their hands -- and even in their mouths -as they dance to the dhaak (drums) and venerate the Goddess who has come to visit them.
Private buses and taxis in West Bengal may go off the roads after the Durga Puja if fares are not increased, even as operators are pinning their hopes on an assurance by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to look into the issue after Lakshmi Puja.
We bring you traditional Bengali preparations to help celebrate Durga Puja.
Alleging that the West Bengal government headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has failed to carry out its basic duties to protect the lives and properties of citizens, Governor C V Ananda Bose on Wednesday said that his office is already intervening in the RG Kar impasse under provisions in the Constitution.
Tripura's Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury alleged that a bus on the way to Kolkata from Agartala was attacked in Bangladesh.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Three of the junior doctors who were observing 'fast unto death' in Kolkata and Siliguri city in the northern part of the state have so far been hospitalised after their condition deteriorated.
'The last time I played dandiya, I injured my eye very badly! Now, I watch other people playing the garba.'
If you're looking for some fashion inspiration this Durga Pooja, Namrata Thakker has got you covered.
'We were asked to add a dialogue where the politician says she admires Mrs Gandhi.'
Film folk arrived at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Mumbai to celebrate the festival with prayers, fashion, dance and bhog.
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