Hindus prepare for the five-day Durga Puja festival by making clay statues of the goddess Durga. A 16-feet tall and 12-and-a-half feet wide Buddha idol, a 20-feet Durga idol and a 64-feet Eiffel tower replica are part of a Durga Puja pandal at Delhi's Panchkuian Road. This makeshift monastery, made with an estimated budget of Rs1 crore, marks the beginning of grand revelries that are to ensue. Bringing Kolkata's festive fervor to the capital is Arambagh puja which is celebrating its silver jubilee, and to brighten up the festivities they have got together craftsmen and sculptors to build this giant structure that is carved out of wood. The shining Buddha idol is made of mango leaves, diya, kohl case (kajal lata), brass water vessel (lota), and bael leaves ingredients of a "puja thali". The detailing on the idol has been done by Gaurang Kuila, and its estimated cost is Rs 25 lakhs. "The committee members are in talks with the National Museum and the Crafts Museum, New Delhi, to preserve the huge art that has been created during this grand festival," said a press release issued by the organisers on Tuesday. The Maa Durga idol has been especially transported from Kolkata, and its approximate cost is Rs 5 lakhs. "The idea is to give the capital a feel of the grand festival of Kolkata," Abhijeet Bose, president of Arambagh puja, said. The interiors of the pandal will reflect nine faces of Durga and a 28-feet chandelier made of 400 bulbs will light up the area. 'Worship of Durga', also referred to as Durgotsava or Sharadotsav is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijayadashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha, 'Fortnight of the Goddess'. Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya, the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Paksha, 'Fortnight of the Forefathers', and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja ('Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night'). Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal, where it is a five-day annual holiday. In West Bengal and Tripura, which has a majority of Bengali Hindus, it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the state, it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali Hindu society. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and in Bangladesh all over the places of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Bogra and other major places and all the villages of Bangladesh where the 20% population is Hindu.3-day National Holiday is being declared and most of the educational institutions remain closed as it is one of the major national festival also in Bangladesh which is widely celebrated and people from all religion participate in the program. Nowadays, many diaspora Bengali cultural organisations arrange for Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum. Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva, who is Durga's consort (Durga is an aspect of Goddess Parvati), in addition to Lakshmi, Saraswati with Ganesha and Kartikeya, who are considered to be Durga's children. Worship of mother nature is done, through nine types of plant (called "Kala Bou"), including a plantain (banana) tree, which represent nine divine forms of Goddess Durga. http://www.durga-puja.org/ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Durga-Puja-pandal-worth-Rs-1-crore-in-Delhi/articleshow/23705250.cms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nqa9oJ3pOs FAIR USE NOTICE: This Video may contain copyrighted (© ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.

• published: 08 Oct 2013
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