GUWAHATI: Durga Puja got off to a start in Guwahati along with the rest of country on Wednesday, October 9 with the face of the Durga idol unveiled to mark the beginning on Sashti.
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Unveiling of the face of the Durga idol is known as bodhon, which is performed in the evening.
The next three days this year will be observed as Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami.
The festivity will go on till October 12 when it will culminate in the immersion of the idol of Durga and her four children Ganesh, Kartik, Laxmi and Saraswati.
Despite infrastructural challenges by way of ongoing construction of roads and flyovers across the city, Sashti gave a glimpse of what to expect in the remaining days as devotees started thronging the puja pandals.
“We decided to do the rounds of the pandals today itself as it will get very crowded from tomorrow,” said Anamika Paul from Rehabari resplendent in her puja special attire.
However, what Anamika wouldn’t know is there are many a mind across the length and breadth of the city whose strategy to beat the crowd is the same – go around on Day One.
The four days of Puja celebrations are marked by dining at restaurants, pandal-hopping, visiting friends and relatives, etc.
The civil and police administrations have taken a number of steps to ensure the puja passes off peacefully.