Four-day Durga Puja celebration, which was marked with traditional and religious fervour, culminated Tuesday with the immersion of more than 50 idols of goddess Durga. The immersion ceremony took place on Dhansiri river bank where hundreds of devotes witnessed the immersion of idols.
Women dressed in white and red saris participated in ‘sindoor khela’ in which married women smear vermillion on each other’s face inside the marquees, before the idols were taken away for immersion. The procession for the ritual started early morning and continued until all the idols were immersed late in the evening.
Samitit members and devotes were seen leading colourful processions to the ghats amid the beating of drums and chanting of mantras. Devotees, including the young, joined hands in gently lowering the idols into the river.
The immersion ceremony symbolizes the end of the goddess’s annual sojourn to her paternal home and she returns to her husband Lord Shiva at their heavenly abode in Mount Kailash.
Dimapur Bengali Samaj (DBS) informed that 51 puja pandals had been set up in Dimapur. This year, all puja committees were asked to ensure low height and eco-friendly idols – decorated with biodegradable, organic colours such as turmeric, chandan and gerua– to avoid impact on environment.