In terms of food consumption, the city’s Navratri and Durga Puja celebrations are very different. While many devotees follow fasts and refrain from non-vegetarian cuisine, now is the time for Bengalis to feast on a variety of specialties with fish toppings, which are on the must-have list in addition to mutton and chicken meals.
The Sindoor Khela was organized in Lucknow, the state capital. Women presented vermilion to Maa Durga, betel and sweets to each other, and applied vermilion to each other during this time. This is an almost 400-year-old custom. Sindoor Khela is the name given to this blessed day and ritual. On the fifth day of Navratri, Durga Puja is established in pandals.
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The Bengali community believes that the mother visits for five days in a pandal shaped like a court. Every day, following the worship rites, Dussehra has said goodbye. Women apply vermilion to each other in the pandal from early morning to wish for a honeymoon and dance to the music of Dhak.
The only time vermilion is used is when Suhag is happy. The mother then walks away. Maa Lakshmi will return to the pandals in the shape of a symbol. People in Bengali society would also worship Goddess Lakshmi in pandals on this day. Puja is performed at the city’s more than 100 pandals.
On the morning of Dussehra, ladies clad in red and cream saris gathered in huge numbers at Chandra Shekhar Azad Park in Aliganj to perform rituals to send off the devi. In this ceremony, the women offered paan and sweets to goddess Durga, also known as boron in Bengali.
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Pulak Mandal and Dhananjay Bhattacharya played the dhol and dhak throughout the rites, adding to the festivities. After the puja, the women applied sindoor to each other, which was the most anticipated part of the ceremony. The delivery of prasad signalled the conclusion of the festivities.