Teary-eyed devotees, scrambling to touch her feet one last time, bade goodbye to their beloved Mother goddess Durga as her idols were immersed in ponds, lakes and rivers across West Bengal on Vijaya Dashami on Friday.
The banks of the Ganges and other rivers wore a festive look despite the sultry weather as organisers came in colourful processions to the accompaniment of drums to immerse idols of the goddess and her four children – Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik.
Women dressed in white and red saris indulged in ‘sindoor khela’ or the playful smearing of vermilion on each other’s face inside the marquees, before the idols were taken away for immersion.
The selfie sticks were out and there was a beeline of onlookers as well.
Hundreds of devotees, including the young, joined hands in gently lowering the idols into the river.
An element of emptiness at the end of the biggest celebration in this part of the country overcame all and sundry, but they consoled themselves shouting “Asche bochor abar hobe” (See you next year).
As the day progressed, several prominent banks on river Hoogly in the city including central Kolkata’s Babughat and north Kolkata’s Bagbazar Ghat drew a large number of people who soaked in the festive spirit.
Most were clad in ethnic wear as they danced all the way to the ghat to the beats of drums.
Senior citizens played cymbals as the idols were lowered into the water while children splashed water on the submerging goddess.
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.