Devotees bid farewell to Goddess Durga in Lko

Since morning, pandals at Bengali Club, Ravindrapalli, Model House, Chowk, Boys Anglo among others recorded rituals of Darpan Visarjan and Sindoor Khela before idols were taken out for immersion.

: Amid the beats of dhak and dhunuchi dance devotees bid an emotional adieu to Goddess Durga on Wednesday, marking the end of Durga Puja festivities across the city.

Devotees arrive to immerse a clay idol of Goddess Durga in an artificial pond on the banks of the Gomti river (Deepak Gupta/HT)

Since morning, pandals at Bengali Club, Ravindrapalli, Model House, Chowk, Boys Anglo among others recorded rituals of Darpan Visarjan and Sindoor Khela before idols were taken out for immersion.

At Ramakrishna Math, the six-day Durga Puja concluded with religious rituals and devotional programmes under the guidance of president Swami Muktinathanand Maharaj. Setting an example in environmental conservation, the Math immersed the idol not in the Gomti but in a pond at village Bakkas, to prevent river pollution.

At Ravindrapalli, women applied vermillion to the Goddess and to each other amid the beats of dhols. Later, after Darpan Visarjan, the idol was immersed at Jhulelal Ghat.

At Bengali Club, vice-president Enakshi Sinha said immersion was carried out as per tradition. After morning puja, Darpan Visarjan and pran visarjan by shaking the kalash were performed, followed by Sindoor Khela by women. In the evening, the idol was immersed in the permanent pond inside the club premises, while the main kalash was immersed in Gomti.

In Gomtinagar, Darpan Visarjan was performed after special puja and Pushpanjali on Dashami. Committee member Ansh said around 350 to 400 women participated in Sindoor Khela held from morning till 2:30 pm, dancing to the beats of dhunuchi after offering sindoor to the Goddess. The idol was later immersed at Jhulelal Ghat.