Starting Saturday, devotees will be able to rejoice in an extended Saraswati Puja this year, which will be celebrated over a long weekend until Monday. A regular feature in every Bengali household during Basant Panchami, the ritual will be carried out as sarvajanik puja (community worship) for three days, a welcome change from the annual routine for worshipers.
Starting Saturday, devotees will be able to rejoice in an extended Saraswati Puja this year, which will be celebrated over a long weekend until Monday. A regular feature in every Bengali household during Basant Panchami, the ritual will be carried out as sarvajanik puja (community worship) for three days, a welcome change from the annual routine for worshipers.
Saraswati is considered to be the goddess of knowledge, art, culture and all studies as per Hindu mythology.
The puja, being conducted for the fifth year in a row, will be held at the Mhada ground, Andheri (W). Organised by Aaradhana, a cultural arm of Snehamoy Chatterjee Educational Foundation Trust, the occasion will be open to all. Artists are called in specially from Kolkata to prepare the idol and the pandal for the celebration. The pandal will sport Sholar Kaja – a fine, intricate decoration of thermocol. The main puja will begin from 11.30 am on Saturday.
"The puja (Basant Panchami) timing this year is such that it spreads over two days. It begins on Saturday and goes on to Sunday. Since there is a longer weekend, we thought of making the celebrations grand," said Inroneil Chatterjee, member of the Aaradhana.
Idol immersion will be done on January 27 around noon.
Until then, the celebration will see a number of events and activities being organised to make it splendid. Bhog will be served on all three days. "We are expecting around 2,000 people daily to have bhog. This number could increase," said Chatterjee.
People will be able to enjoy the evenings with dance and live performances by various artists. Among the performers are Tanushree Shankar and troupe, Jolly Mukherjee and team and singer Usha Uthup.
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