A look at how an age-old tradition adds colour to Durga Puja celebrations.
The long Puja marathon just came to an end... and so has all the fun!
Like every year, this time too, Bengalis, dressed in their best attires, hopped from one pandal to the other, offered pushpanjali (a ritual in which worshippers pray to the Goddess with folded hands full of flowers) and indulged in delicious bhog and other mouth-watering dishes.
But one thing that makes Durga Puja so colourful is the age-old ritual of Sindoor Khela(the vermilion play).
As devotees prepared for the immersion of the clay idol with a heavy-heart and teary eyes on Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the Puja, this final ritual somehow lightened up the mood.
While the women -- this religious custom is only for women -- smear sindoor or vermilion on other married women and wish each other a happy married life, men can only be happy witnessing the whole ritual.
Presenting nine photos that aptly capture the true essence of the ritual.
Here a devotee displays her plate that comprises sweets, marigold flowers, incense sticks, betel leaf and kumkum (vermilion) to worship the idol first.
All photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
Photograph: Kind courtesy Chayanika Dutta Das
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