Connect with us

Regional

Kumari Puja marks Durga Ashtami in Bengal

Published

9 years ago

on

Kolkata: Durga puja fervour and gaiety peaked on Wednesday in West Bengal as thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad converged at Belur Math in Howrah for Kumari Puja (worship of pre-pubescent girl).

They also thronged the city streets in lakhs to get a glimpse of the fascinating marquees and the idols.

The day marked Maha Ashtami – the eighth day of the lunar calendar and third day of Durga puja festivities – when weapons of goddess Durga are worshipped (astra puja) and hymns chanted in praise of the deity.

According to Hindu mythology, on the eighth day, a fierce form of the mother goddess – Bhadrakali – was invoked to slay Mahishasura while other gods bestowed their blessings and weapons to the incarnate to battle the buffalo demon king.

The rituals began in the morning with Kumari Puja, where girls are worshipped as personification of the goddess.

The mythological texts decree that Kumari Puja establishes the importance of women. The maiden who is worshipped symbolises the power that regulates creation, stability and destruction on Earth.

Kumari Puja was started by Swami Vivekananda in 1901 at the Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, 10 km from Kolkata in Howrah district.

Thousands of devotees, including movie stars and sports personalities, rushed early morning to offer ‘anjali’ (floral offerings) to the goddess.

The normally five-day carnival, reduced to a four-day affair this year as decreed by the almanac, is being celebrated across the state with enthusiasm and religious fervour.

In Kolkata, around 2,470 community pujas are being held. Besides, another 5,000 households in the city are worshiping the goddess.

Tens of thousands of marquees have come up elsewhere in the state.

Lakhs of people, attired in new clothes, visited the marquees in the afternoon. Long queues were seen outside landmark community puja marquees.

The FD Block Durga Puja committee in Salt Lake drew a large crowd with its theme of a rural temple, while Chetla Agrani Sangha in south Kolkata’s Kalighat came up with an environment-friendly idea by making a marquee with chairs, water pots and oil barrels to promote the cause of recycling.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Home

What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story

Published

3 years ago

on

May 5, 2022

By

The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.

In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).

The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.

The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.

Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.

In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.

The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.

Continue Reading

Trending