Millions throng puja pandals on Mahasaptami despite drizzle

Kolkata, Sep 29 (UNI) Ignoring occasional bouts of rain threatening to mar the festivity all round, millions of people from every nook and cranny of the city thronged the puja pandals on the 'Mahasaptasmi' today.

As incessant rain for the past few weeks had cast a shadow over the festive atmosphere, the weathermen's prediction of more rains today, however, didn't stop people from hopping the puja pandals and enjoying the festival to the extreme.

Though Mahasaptami began with a bright indication of sunny weather, as the day progressed repeated cloud bursts forced people to stay indoors and watch the puja coverage on their television sets.

However, late in the afternoon pandal hopping resumed and city experienced community gatherings at several places with hymns, sounds of the 'dhaks' and 'conchs' instilling the religious feeling in their soul.

Besides, the city also experienced a harrowing tale of traffic jams at several places.

Meanwhile, the met office said the deep depression over the Gangetic Bay of Bengal has moved towards Orissa and Jharkhand, assuring people a pleasant Astami and Nabami.

The time immemorial religious tradition of these three days of puja festivity began with the bathing ceremony of ''Kalabou'' in the ganges followed the offering of 'Anjalis' in the morning.

Since most of the major puja committes in the city have organised community lunch for the local residents, large number of people took part in the feast before embarking on the night long pandal hopping.

As a result since afternoon the city and the district police officials have a tiring time to control the mob who have formed long queues in front of all the major puja pandals to have a glimpse of the idols and the illuminated pandal decorations.

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