July 04, 2026 09:05 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

Festivals

'Why can't citizens protest against the government? They are being made slaves by slapping cases': Bombay HC slams Mumbai Police, quashes activist's externment | 'First he cheats on me...': Siya Goyal's old pub video goes viral amid probe into fiancé Ketan Agarwal's alleged murder | Ronaldo's goal, Ramos' last-gasp winner send Portugal past Croatia, set up Spain clash | India-US trade deal almost done! Piyush Goyal hints at breakthrough | Ram Mandir donation scam: Champat Rai points finger at his own driver | PM Modi welcomes Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi as India-Japan ties enter a new era | 'Not an isolated incident': India slams Pakistan after 125-year-old historic Gurdwara is demolished | Ram Mandir donation theft: Six accused were employed by Varanasi-based security firm, probe reveals | Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft: Probe says majority of money was allegedly stolen during Kumbh Mela | Commercial LPG price slashed by Rs 183.50 from July 1; check new rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai

Festive fever grips Kolkata on Mahaashtami

India Blooms News Service | | Oct 21, 2015, at 04:32 pm

Kolkata, Oct 21 (IBNS): The festivity fever reached peak on Wednesday as the day of Mahaashtami brought along happiness and different hues of aspiration with people flocking to the nearby pandals to offer 'anjali', a special prayer to the goddess.

People adorned in traditional attires were spotted in long queues in almost every pandals (marquees) in the 'City of Joy', waiting for their turn to offer the special prayer since dawn.

Mahaashtami is traditionally known as the day of sacrifices. It was on this date that buffaloes were sacrificed in several families to mark the victory of goddess Durga over the Mahisasur (Buffalo-demon).

However, with the change in situation and time, the entire ritual of animal sacrifice has now become obsolete. These days, vegetables are sacrificed in place of animals and the entire ritual is known as 'balidan'.

The second significant ritual of the day is 'kumari puja' where a young girl is worshipped as 'Kumari'.

This year, the Sandhi puja has been performed in the morning itself.

Traditionally on the day of Mahaashtami, Bengalis prefer to eat vegetarian dishes.

Meanwhile, the streets of Kolkata on the Mahasaptami night were bubbling with huge crowd as they queued up to catch up with the best pandals (marquees) of the city.

From popular restaurants, to small-time food stalls, the queue of pandal hoppers waiting for their refreshment remained unaltered from south to north Kolkata.

#Durga Puja # Mahasaptami # Mahashashti # Festivity # Kolkata # Maha Ashtami

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.

India
International

Related Images

In Images: Kolkata Celebrates Jagadhatri Puja Oct 31, 2025, at 12:43 am

Darjipara Mitra Bari Gears Up for Its Centuries-Old Jagadhatri Puja in Kolkata Oct 30, 2025, at 01:16 am

In Images: Devotees in Kolkata bid farewell to Goddess Durga with sindoor khela and immersion on Vijayadashami Oct 03, 2025, at 12:19 am