June 08, 2026 06:04 am (IST)
Follow us:
Mahalaya: Hindus pay tribute to their ancestors at the Hooghly river
Gearing up for the Durga Puja celebration, the Bengali community, like many others, on Saturday observed the final day of Pitru-paksha through Mahalaya, the auspicious occasion when one pays tribute to ancestors through prayers, rituals and a dip in the river Ganga. The day marks the commencement of Devipaksha (Fortnight of the Goddess). In West Bengal, day breaks at 4 am on Mahalaya by listening to the famous radio broadcast Mahishasur-Mardini, a recital conceptualised by the late Birendrakrishna Bhadra. Throngs of people were on the banks of Hooghly river as they took a dip and offered prayer (tarpan) for their forefathers. Images by Soumo Das/IBNS
Gearing up for the Durga Puja celebration, the Bengali community, like many others, on Saturday observed the final day of Pitru-paksha through Mahalaya, the auspicious occasion when one pays tribute to ancestors through prayers, rituals and a dip in the river Ganga. The day marks the commencement of Devipaksha (Fortnight of the Goddess). In West Bengal, day breaks at 4 am on Mahalaya by listening to the famous radio broadcast Mahishasur-Mardini, a recital conceptualised by the late Birendrakrishna Bhadra. Throngs of people were on the banks of Hooghly river as they took a dip and offered prayer (tarpan) for their forefathers. Images by Soumo Das/IBNS
Gearing up for the Durga Puja celebration, the Bengali community, like many others, on Saturday observed the final day of Pitru-paksha through Mahalaya, the auspicious occasion when one pays tribute to ancestors through prayers, rituals and a dip in the river Ganga. The day marks the commencement of Devipaksha (Fortnight of the Goddess). In West Bengal, day breaks at 4 am on Mahalaya by listening to the famous radio broadcast Mahishasur-Mardini, a recital conceptualised by the late Birendrakrishna Bhadra. Throngs of people were on the banks of Hooghly river as they took a dip and offered prayer (tarpan) for their forefathers. Images by Soumo Das/IBNS
Gearing up for the Durga Puja celebration, the Bengali community, like many others, on Saturday observed the final day of Pitru-paksha through Mahalaya, the auspicious occasion when one pays tribute to ancestors through prayers, rituals and a dip in the river Ganga. The day marks the commencement of Devipaksha (Fortnight of the Goddess). In West Bengal, day breaks at 4 am on Mahalaya by listening to the famous radio broadcast Mahishasur-Mardini, a recital conceptualised by the late Birendrakrishna Bhadra. Throngs of people were on the banks of Hooghly river as they took a dip and offered prayer (tarpan) for their forefathers. Images by Soumo Das/IBNS
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Reading Chain in Kolkata Amid College Street Eviction Fears
Wed, Jun 03 2026
In Images: Kolkata observes World No Tobacco Day
Mon, Jun 01 2026
In Images: Final tributes to Bengali filmmaker Anik Dutta
Fri, May 29 2026
In Images: Rajkummar Rao in Kolkata for Sourav Ganguly biopic shoot
Wed, May 27 2026
US Ambassador Sergio Gor visits Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata
Wed, May 13 2026
