Idol Immersions End Durga Puja

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1. BENGAL BIDS FAREWELL TO GODDESS

 

KOLKATA (October 3, 2006): A tinge of sadness filled the air in West

Bengal as Durga Puja celebrations came to an end yesterday with the

immersion of goddess Durga's idols in the river Ganga and other

water bodies across the state.

 

Bijoya Dasami, called Dussehra in other parts of India and also

known as Dasa-Hara, means the cutting of the 10 heads of Ravana and

is observed with the burning of giant effigies of the demon king.

 

On the day of Dussehra, Hindu lord Ram killed the great demon king

who had abducted his wife Sita. Dussehra marks the end of the nine

days of Navaratri.

 

In Bengal, adult men embrace each other on this day and the young

ones touch the feet of elders to seek blessings.

 

In Kolkata yesterday, roads were choked with idol immersion

processions.

 

SOURCE: IANS. Gulf News. Dubai, UAE. Bengal bids farewell to

goddess. Published: 10/03/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

URL: http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10071863.html

 

2. GODDESS BOWS OUT WITH A SPLASH

 

NEW DELHI (October 3, 2006): Hindu devotees in India let an idol of

the goddess Durga into the River Yamuna in Delhi during a festival

devoted to the ten-armed deity, who symbolises power and the triumph

of good over evil in mythology.

 

The immersions in India mark the end of Durga Puja, the prayer

festival for the mother of the elephant-headed god, Ganesh.

 

The festival was also celebrated by Hindus in Bangladesh.

Traditionally, as the river washes away the effigies, all bad luck

is washed away with them.

 

The event has been criticised by environmentalists because it

leaches lead-based paint into the water.

 

Warnings have been largely ignored by the Hindu community, and the

northern Indian Ganges, the holiest river, suffers most heavily from

chemical pollution and huge quantities of plastic debris.

 

SOURCE: The Times, London

URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2385289,00.html