A priest performing rituals at a community puja on 'Mahashasthi', on the first day of the five-day festival, in Kolkata on Thursday.

Kolkata, October 11, 2013: The wait for the five-day Durga Puja finally got over with the festivities beginning amid gaiety on the occasion of Mahashasti on Thursday. Revellers were out in large numbers in the city and the crowds outside the numerous community puja pandals are only expected to grow in the coming days.

 The clouds had moved away even though the threat of rain over the weekend remains.

 The intricately decorated pandals with their dazzling illumination were where all roads led. The numbers of on-lookers swelled as the evening wore on. Not to be missed were the family pujas — some nearly a century old or even more — that caught the eye.

 The city vibrated to the beat of the dhaks (traditional drums) outside the pandals even as the “bodhon” ceremony — the invocation of Goddess Durga — was performed, a ritual that marks the start of the Puja festival.

 Over the past few years what has caught on is the concept of “theme” pujas, where a social message — like the need to protect the environment or the preservation of different forms of folk art — is sent out from the pandal.

 There was a rush for pavement food stalls that have sprouted all over the city offering a vast range of fast foods.

 One indication of the large number of people making their way into the city during the festival is the figures made available by the Metro Railway authorities.

 Usually, the Metro carries about 6.5 lakh passengers a day but it has increased to nearly 8 lakh due to the additional rush in the run-up to Durga Puja. Now that the festival has begun, this figure is expected to go up further, said an official of the Metro Railway. Train services would operate all night till 4 a.m. for three days starting Friday. 

Source: The Hindu, October 11, 2013