Saraswati Puja! (Bangladesh, Nepal Reports)

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IN BANGLADESH

 

DHAKA, Jan 25 – Saraswati Puja will be held tomorrow amid religious

fervour and festivity.

 

Particularly students have arranged puja offerings for Saraswati,

goddess of eloquence and learning, in the educational institutions

and residences, to seek blessings from the deity for enriching their

knowledge.

 

In the capital, Saraswati Puja will mainly take place at Jagannath

Hall on the Dhaka University campus, Dhaka Medical College campus,

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Dhaka

College.

 

A total of 38 puja-madops have been set up on the Jagannath Hall

premises to celebrate the festival. Institute of Fine Arts has

established a mondop on the pond in the hall compound. The puja will

begin at 9am at the Jagannath hall.

 

A cultural function will be arranged at the hall at 6:30pm on January

27 as part of the festival.

 

URL: http://www.matamat.com/fullstory.php?gd=9&cd=2004-01-25

 

IN NEPAL

 

Nepalis fete birthday of goddess of learning

 

Tuesday, 27 January , 2004, 05:06

 

KATHMANDU - Tens of thousands of Nepalis thronged Hindu temples

across the kingdom Monday to celebrate the birthday of the goddess of

learning and the coming of spring.

 

Serpentine queues formed at temples around the nation, the world's

only Hindu kingdom, as students and others awaited their turn to

worship the goddess Saraswati, whose birthday falls on the same day

as Vasant Panchami, which celebrates the advent of spring.

 

King Gyanendra listened to special classical music played to mark the

event in a courtyard of the ancient royal palace in the capital,

Kathmandu. Many parents also started teaching their children how to

read and write.

 

It is a popular belief that youngsters make great strides in learning

if they begin to read and write on the twin festival day.

 

URL: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13371175