FESTIVE MOOD GRIPS ARA TOWN
A festive mood is fast gripping the Ara town as people worshiped the six of the nine forms of goddess Durga on Friday. The traditional drummers have started beating their tastefully decorated instrument heralding the advent of eagerly awaited Durga Puja festival from Octoer 15, 2023. Puja committees have making elaborate arrangements for welcoming Goddess Durga symbolizing ‘valour and strength’ and are busy giving final touches to the special tents and shamianas erected for the purpose. As per a rough estimate, idols have been installed at about 485 places in Bhojpur district. The number of idols installed this year is much less than last year as people of the district are under heavy load of price rise of essential commodities.
FESTIVE MOOD GRIPS ARA TOWN
20-OCT-ENG 8
RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL
ARA---------------------------- A festive mood is fast gripping the Ara town as people worshiped the six of the nine forms of goddess Durga on Friday. The traditional drummers have started beating their tastefully decorated instrument heralding the advent of eagerly awaited Durga Puja festival from Octoer 15, 2023. Puja committees have making elaborate arrangements for welcoming Goddess Durga symbolizing ‘valour and strength’ and are busy giving final touches to the special tents and shamianas erected for the purpose. As per a rough estimate, idols have been installed at about 485 places in Bhojpur district. The number of idols installed this year is much less than last year as people of the district are under heavy load of price rise of essential commodities.
Devotees including men, women and children continued to line up at different important temples including Aranaya Devi Temple. At different places, puja pandals and residential houses of individual devotees, priests have been engaged for recitation of Shri Durga Saptashati.
Meanwhile, Kumhars (pot makers) and the artisans are burning the midnight candle to deliver the images of the Goddess Durga depicting its different forms as described in the scriptures. At several places the images are being given final touches at the installation sites itself. The organizers are giving stress on spiritual purity and the programmes sans the usual fanfare, reveling and illuminations.
The puja pandals are also being dressed up by the organizers at different places which are being tastefully illuminated. Devotees are seen making beeline at the Aranaya temple to participate in the puja. A noted astrologer and karmkandi, Om Prakash Mishra said it would be ten-day festival as per the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat). Thus the auspicious Navaratra will be of ten days this year with the final Vijaya Dashami on October 24, 2023..
The district administration has organized peace committee meetings and planned to make special security arrangements on the occasion. Bhojpur SP, Pramod Kumar Yadav said that officials were directed to take contingency measures and keep extra vigil in the sensitive areas. He further said additional police pickets have been set up besides round the clock police patrolling in all the important and vulnerable areas.
But the Puja organizers are facing problem of insanitary condition prevailing in all parts of town though locals are doing their bit to remove filth and garbage and cleaning the choked drains.
Besides, the manifold civic problems, the usual enthusiasm and exuberance is lacking among the citizens mainly because of mounting cost of consumer articles and essential commodities.
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