The preparation for Saraswati Puja, a major religious festival of the Hindu community, is in full swing at Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University (DU).
The puja is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Magh. This year the festival will be celebrated on February 14 at 72 puja mandaps to be set up on the premises of Jagannath Hall. Devotees come here from different parts of the country to pay their respects to goddess.
According to Hindus, Saraswati is the goddess of learning, wisdom and music. On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Magh, Goddess Saraswati came to the world with a white duck.
According to the religious custom, on the morning of the puja, the goddess will be welcomed with milk, honey, curd, ghee, camphor, and sandalwood.
"Among 72 puja mandaps, 69 pavilions will be set up with financial support from various departments of the university. The other three are special pavilions. One puja mandap is being set up centrally for the university, another is the idol of Saraswati, being set up in the pond of the hall at the initiative of the students of Faculty of Fine Arts and other mandap is being set up on Jagannath Hall shrine for the officials of the hall," Prof Dr Mihir Lal Shah, Provost and President of the Universal Puja Celebration Committee of Jagannath Hall, told The Business Post.
"Our preparations are underway. The room of mandap has already been allotted. We have talked to the university administration and police for security," he added.
Artisans are now busy making idols. Anadi Pal, an artisan, has been working on the construction of idols Saraswati for 12 years. He said, "We have started making idols a few days ago. Now the work is almost finished."
Polash Roy Sourov, a resident of Jagannath Hall, told The Business Post, "It’s a matter of pride for us that Saraswati Puja is being celebrated here since the establishment of Jagannath Hall."
"To celebrate the puja in a festive mood with the participation of all the students, the work of making pavilions is going on at our hall ground," he added.
