Durga Puja Festivities Begin In Kolkata – Outlook India

A Hindu priest performs rituals with a banana plant, sacred to Hindus, on the first day of Durga Puja festival on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata. The five-day festival commemorates the slaying of a demon king by goddess Durga, marking the triumph of good over evil.

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A Hindu devotee adjusts her sari as she fetches water from the Hooghly River in a copper pot as part of rituals on the first day of Durga Puja festival in Kolkata.

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Hindu priests and devotees performs rituals with a banana plant in the Hooghly River on the first day of Durga Puja festival in Kolkata.

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A priest puts sacred marks of on green coconuts as he performs rituals on the first day of Durga Puja festival on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata.

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Munni, 13, a homeless girl who lives on the banks of the Hooghly River sells silt collected from the river to the devotees during Durga Puja festival in Kolkata. The silt is used for performing rituals.

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A Hindu boy carries water from the Hooghly River in a copper pot as part of rituals on the first day of Durga Puja festival in Kolkata.

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Hindu devotees perform rituals on the first day of Durga Puja festival on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata.

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A Hindu priest performs rituals with a banana plant on the first day of Durga Puja festival on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata.

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Hindu devotees perform rituals on the first day of Durga Puja festival on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata.