People of the Hindu community on Friday celebrated Saraswati Puja with the spirit of pursuing education and knowledge, traditional gaiety and due religious fervour in the city as well as other districts in Rajshahi division.
The celebration includes decorating, worshipping the goddess of knowledge, offering prayers, and arranging cultural programmes to mark the arrival of spring. Major celebrations occur at Rajshahi University's central temple, along with various departmental, hall, and school premises.
Students and devotees place books and educational materials at the feet of the idol for blessings, followed by Bani Archana (adoration of the goddess) and Pushpanjali (offering flowers), reports BSS.
Puja mandaps, mandirs and a large number of educational institutions have been colourfully decorated as hundreds of devotees seek blessings since morning from the 'Devi Saraswati', the Goddess of knowledge.
The day is called 'Vasant Panchami'. The devotees, especially the students attired in colourful dresses, offered special prayers and observed fasting as per the ritual of the festival to seek knowledge from the Goddess Saraswati.
In Rajshahi city, a large number of images of Goddess Saraswati, symbolizing a graceful woman riding on a swan, were erected at different puja mandaps, mandirs and educational institutions.
Swaraswati Puja was celebrated at Rajshahi University, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi College, Rajshahi New Government Degree
College, Rajshahi Medical College, Teachers Training College, Polytechnic Institute side by side with different educational institutions and many other places, including railway office complex, in the city.
The celebration also included offering of Devi Aradhana, Pushpanjoli, 'archanas', 'anjolis', 'aratis', distribution of 'Prasad', 'Arati Competitions', cultural functions and staging of drama.
To mark the celebration, Rajshahi University Central Puja Udjapan Parishad (RUPUP) arranged a bani archana programme on central puja mandap premises.
Hindu devotees, especially students and teachers of Rajshahi University celebrated the Saraswati Puja at the university central temple premises, setting up colorful Mandaps and placing the idol of the goddess with different types of sweet meat, fruits and other items and articles of handicrafts.
RU Vice-chancellor (VC) Professor Saleh Hassan Naquib and Pro-VCs Prof Mayeen Uddin and Prof Farid Uddin Uddin Khan addressed the meeting as the chief and special guests respectively with RUPUP President Prof Partha Biplob Roy in
the chai
Saraswati Puja was also celebrated in Chittagong yesterday. Different religious, professional and socio-cultural organizations organized Bani Archana, discussion meetings, distribution of Prashads, cultural functions and illuminations at temples, educational institutions and other makeshift places in the port city for worshipping the goddess.
Chattogram Metropolitan and District police control room sources and Hindu community leaders said that the festival was celebrated in the city and district in a peaceful manner.
A good number of Hindu religious and cultural organizations organized Bani Archana functions in the city and district throughout the day.
A large number of devotees including female students converged at the J M Sen Hall premises, the traditional venue of different religious functions of the Hindu community, and offered worship to Debi Saraswati seeking her blessing for knowledge.
Chattogram University Puja Udjapan Parishad sources told BSS that Bani Archanas were held at Chattogram University, City University College, Chattogram Government College, Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College and a good number of educational institutions.
A series of programmes were held at Ramkrishna Sebasrham in the city with the beginning of Puja on Friday morning followed by Puspanjali, distributions of Prashads and singing religious songs.
