While most of us in Hyderabad celebrate the nine days prior to Dasara as Navratri, this period of religious observance has a number of traditions that are unique to the various communities. Here’s how the Bengalis celebrate the festival.
For Bengalis, festivities begin on the fifth day of Navratri, which is celebrated as Mahalaya. The 6 days of Durga Puja is celebrated at common places of worship called pandals, where devotees pray to the idol of Durga. Communities like the Cyberabad Bangali Association also bring in traditional Bengali folk singers and dancers to allow Bengalis here to have the authentic Bengali Durga Puja experience. Another big part of their celebrations is the variety of Bengali food that is served.
The eighth and ninth days — Ashtami and Navami — have special pujas, with the 10th day reserved for the immersion of the idol. Before the immersion, however, Bengali women perform the sindoor-khela, a practise where they dress up in white saris with red borders, apply sindoor onto the idol and place a sweet dish next to it — which represents the bridal farewell tradition.
