August 29, 2026 04:54 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

Festivals

‘Clean my shoes’: Greater Noida woman detained after alleged abuse, assault of security guards | 21-year-old model stabbed to death in Delhi; gym trainer arrested after encounter | Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, other TMC leaders booked after Camac Street clash with Kolkata Police | Kanpur plane crash: Training aircraft crashes near Ganges, two pilots killed | Big IT boost for Bengal: LTM opens global delivery & AI centre in Kolkata's New Town | 21-year-old Delhi model found stabbed at Delhi home, gym trainer accused of killing her | ‘Who is stopping her from wearing what she wants?’: Kangana Ranaut hits back at Kriti Sanon over Raksha Bandhan ad | 300 Indians missing in Nepal flash floods, 160 dead: Foreign Minister reveals grim toll | Supreme Court directs Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks | Supreme Court notice to 20 rebel TMC MPs in disqualification plea

Mahasaptami ups spirit among festive frenzy Kolkatans

India Blooms News Service | | Oct 20, 2015, at 05:12 pm

Kolkata, Oct 20 (IBNS): As the day of Mahasaptami commenced, the festive spirit, joy and enthusiasm of the Bengali community in Kolkata received an extra fillip on Tuesday with people upping their celebratory mood to a great deal.

Mahasaptami is one of the important days in the course of Durga Puja, which the Kolkatans ardently wait for.

It is from this day, the main rituals associated with the Durga Puja commences.

On Mahasaptami, some important rituals of the puja are performed with 'Nabapatrika snan' or 'Kolabou snan' (bathing of banana bride) and 'pravesh' (entrance of Goddess in the mandap-the place of worship) at dawn.

The stem of a banana plant is bathed and draped in a red and white saree that make it look like a newly wed bride and then placed beside Lord Ganesha as 'Kalabou' is considered to be his wife according to Hindu mythology.

Kalabou is also known as another form of Durga. It is with the ritual bathing of Kalabou that the puja starts on Mahasaptami day. In the scriptures Kalabou is also called Nabapatrika which can be linked to the worship by the peasants for good harvest during autumn and when idol worship was not in practice.

While Nabapatrika, which comprises nine plants including Kalagaach (Banana Plant), later was integrated with the Durga Puja, it is said to be the oldest form of worship.

Meanwhile, the entire city was busy celebrating the night of Mahashasti as they hopped from one pandal (marquees) to another to take an eyeful of the beauty and exclusiveness of each idol and decoration.

Long queues were spotted in front of the popular restaurants of the city. The road side food stalls gave them a tough competition in drawing certain section of the crowd who wanted to save time by having some quick ready made foods.

The madness and the rush is expected to increase from Mahasaptami as Kolkata and West Bengal will step into the main phase of the puja from Tuesday.

#Durga Puja # Mahasaptami # Mahashashti # Festivity # Kolkata

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.

India
International

Related Images

From handwoven sarees to corporate chic, Sanskriti unveils its latest collections in Kolkata Aug 24, 2026, at 03:21 pm

In Images: Exhibition stalls during Bharat Tex 2026 Jul 17, 2026, at 06:44 pm

In Images: Kolkata Celebrates Jagadhatri Puja Oct 31, 2025, at 12:43 am