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Sindoor Khela marks the end of Durga Puja in Kolkata
by Ajitha Menon

     Kolkata: It was the women's day out at community Puja Pandals across West Bengal as the time for bidding farewell to Goddess Durga approached. Married ladies, including mothers, wives and daughters joined together to bid adieu to the Goddess, adorning her with vermilion and feeding her sweets. They applied vermilion on each other, praying for the well being of their husbands, asking the Goddess for her blessings, seeking prosperity, health and wealth for their better halves. "The dhaki and the puja are the last of the rituals. Now the married women will apply vermilion on the Goddess. They will then play with vermilion amongst each other. The playing has become a ritual. It is to ask the Goddess for her blessings for their husbands and praying for the husband's long life," says Apu Banerjee, a local. Sindoor Khela brings with it a mixture of joy and sadness as it marks the end of the puja. It is said that one can see the Goddess's eyes glistening, as if she is teary-eyed . "We are here to apply vermilion on Goddess Durga and then we are also going to apply vermilion on each other. It is a moment of happiness for all of us here and at the same time we are sad that the puja is ending," says Dhariti De Munshi, a local. The women prayed that Goddess Durga should grace her earthly abode again next year. The festivities for this year were ending but the curtains were being brought down in style. The red hue of the vermilion hung around as the women laughter together, fed each other and danced with joy. The Durga Puja rituals start with Bodhan (the invocation of goddess Durga on the first day) on Shasthi (sixth Navratri) and Naba Patrika Sthapan (the ritual of setting up a giant banana tree clad in a, saree beside Lord Ganesh, worshipped as his wife) on Saptami. Then there is Puspanjali in the morning and Sandhya Aarti of asthami, the most important day of the festival. The other important part of the festival is Sindoor khela, the ritual of putting vermilion on the forehead of goddess Durga by married women.
-Oct 12, 2005