Journalism of Courage
One of the biggest festivals of India, the Durga Puja came to an end on Vijay Dashami or Dusshera. Lakhs of people thronged different Durga Puja pandals braving rains and inclement weather, to bid adieu to the Goddess Durga on the last day of the five-day Durga Puja festival. With anticipation of the homecoming of the deity next year, married women decked in the ritualistic red-and-white saris marked the event with the customary "Sindoor Khela" or smearing each other and the idols with red vermillion to prepare the gods for their return to their heavenly abode on Mount Kailash.
Check out these pictures of Durga visarjan across India here. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
Devotees immerse an Idol of Goddess Durga in a Pond after conclusion of Durga Puja, at Tara Devi in Shimla. (Source: Express Photo By Pradeep Kumar)
Porters carry an idol of Goddess Durga for immersion in the river Hooghly (Ganga) in Kolkata. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
Porters use ropes and bamboos to carry the idols from pandals to river banks for the visarjan. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
Tight security arrangements were made on all the ghats. Police vans were posted at the entry gates and the boats were kept ready in case of any emergency. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
A salient feature at Babughat in Kolkata was the alacrity with which the premise was being promptly cleaned by the 20 KMC workers after each idol was placed in the river. The flowers and debris are washed away and the structures removed to prevent river pollution. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
To keep the waterbody clean, the idols are liftedfrom the water with the help of cranes soon after the immersion. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
The drummers or dhakis play the signature tune of 'Visarjan' (ritual of immersion) as the porters make their way for the idols to be carried into water.(Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
As part of the observances, enthusiasts cutting across religious and age barriers indulged in "dhunuchi naach" - dancing to the beat of the 'dhaak' (drums) holding aloft earthen bowls laden with incense and camphor. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
Devotees prepare for visarjan at a ghat in Kolkata. (Source: Express photo by Partha Paul)
Devotees carry an idol of Goddess Durga for immersion in a temporary pond near the Ganges River in Allahabad. (Source: AP)
Municipal workers push an idol of Hindu goddess Durga for immersion in the river Brahmaputra in Guwahati, Assam. (Source: AP)
People ride on a truck carrying an idol of Hindu goddess Durga for immersion in Assam. (Source: AP)
Workers immerse an idol of Hindu goddess Durga in Hussain Sagar lake during Durga Puja festival in Hyderabad. (Source: AP)
A giant Idol of goddess Durga suspends from a crane before it is immersed in the River Yamuna during Durga Puja festival in New Delhi. (Source: AP)
Devotees carrying idols of Goddess Devi Durga for immersion during a procession in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. (Source: PTI)
Devotees dance and celebrate while carrying an idol of Goddess Durga for immersion in Kuakhai river in Bhubaneswar. (Source: PTI)
Devotees carrying the idol of Goddess Durga on a boat for immersion at Ganga river on the occasion of "Vijaya Dashmi" at Raginajer in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. (Source: PTI)
Devotees immerse an idol of goddess Durga in the Ganga river at the end of Durga puja festival in Patna. (Source: PTI)
