Festive season onsets with Viswakarma Puja in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 18 (UNI) With the celebration of Viswakarma Puja today, the festive season in Bengal literally took off with the beating of traditional dhaks (drums) which symbolise the onset of the Durga Puja.

As Bengal's biggest festival Durga Puja begins just a month from now, people across the state today celebrated the Viswakarma Puja or God of architecture with pomp and gaiety.

All manufacturing units, newspapers and news agency offices, bus and taxi syndicates organised the puja. Many of the manufacturing units were also closed giving their workers a paid holiday.

Prices of vegetables, including potatoes and onions, skyrocketted forcing people to shell out more as demands go up during festival.

Kite flying is another additional attraction of the Viswakarma Puja for Kolkatans as hundreds of paper made kites covered the autumn clear sky of the city. Boys could be seen atop the terraces flying kites. Expert flyers from Lucknow and Benaras have also come to the city for kite flying competition, being organised by some clubs.

Dhakies also find the Viswakarma Puja, an occasion to renew their contacts with the organisers for the four-day Durga Puja festival which is followed by Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja.

UNI