The grand festival of five-day Sharadiya Durga Puja ends tonight with immersion of idols in the evening at nearby rivers or ponds and exchanging Bijaya greetings among devotees across the country.

Temples across the country including Dhakeshwari National temple, Ramna Kali Temple, Siddheswari Kalimandir are now seeing massive gathering of female devotees clad in colorful dresses including white saree with red borders and they are performing Sindur khela, a significant part of Bijoya Dashami celebrations. Males also join this ritual nowadays with giving colors to faces of other devotees or participants.

Sindur Khela, literally meaning 'vermillion game', is a Hindu tradition of East India and Bangladesh where women smear each other with sindur on Bijaya Dashami, the last day of the Durga Puja.

BDST: 2117 HRS, OCT 24, 2023
MSK