Kolkata, September 21 (IANS) Thousands of people offered ‘Tarpan’ on the banks of the Hooghly River to obey their ancestors on the occasion of Mahalya, which marks the beginning of the Durga Puja festival.
The River Traffic Police placed a strict vigilance with various ghats of Hooghly to prevent any untoward incident. Adequate security measures were taken at 18 ghats in Kolkata, where devotees offered ‘Tarpan’. Police said vehicles activities were also banned on the roads leading to the ghat.
The palace is an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar, the end of the Pitu Paksha (ancestral puja period) and the beginning of the goddess side (an auspicious, fortnightly-term period in the Hindu calendar, for the beginning of the observation of the rare, which is at the beginning of the palace, which is the beginning of His Excellency).
Although Durga Puja officially begins on ‘Shasthi’ (28 September), Utsav starts from Mahalya.
The beginning of the morning of ‘Mahishasura Mardini’ – a collection of shlokus and songs that is dedicated to Goddess Durga – was aired on All India Radio (AIR).
Mahishasura Mardini was first aired as a live program on Air in the early 1930s. Since then, it has become a ‘ritual’ in the morning.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also greeted people. PM Modi said on X, “You all wish Shubo Mahalya!
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also greeted Maulaya.
“Shubhao Maulaya! On the holy occasion of Maulaya, I expand my heartiest greetings to everyone. Mother Durga’s unconscious affection bombarded all the divine blessings of happiness, strength, prosperity and good health at every house,” she wrote on X.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinmool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee wrote a Durga Puja song and was composed by her on her X handle.
Congratulating the people of Mahalya, he wrote, “On the occasion of Jagrit Durga, Jag, ten weapons carriers. Tan, Agomoni and Abahan, I express the palace with my heart.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the last few years offered all party employees killed in political violence in the state at Bagbazar Ghat. The state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya took a dip in the Hooghly River and prayed with other party workers.
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