Shimla

The Bengali community in the north Indian hill town of Shimla organised a special prayer and played ‘Sindoor Khela’ on Dussehra also marking the completion of 200 years of Kalibari temple on Tuesday.

Women from the Bengali community gathered in Shimla from outstate Himachal Pradesh to celebrate the festival.

It has been almost 200 years since Kalibari temple was built; this temple was built in 1823. This year, it is a special occasion for us on this Dussehra. On this occasion, a special event has been organised in Kalibari Temple. A special drum group and artists have been called especially from West Bengal, for this programme. The women are performing Pooja to the goddess who comes to her home, and Durga comes to her home. This drum is played until the idol of the goddess is immersed. Every year on the day of Vijayadashami, Sindoor Khela is organised in Kalibari, in which all the local and especially married women from Kolkata participate, said Kallol Pramanik, an organiser.

On this day, married women bid farewell to Maa Durga, who according to Hindu belief had come to her parent’s home.

Rani Banerjee, the fifth generation of the Banerjee family living in Shimla for over 150 years said, Today is the festival of Vijayadashami, which is being celebrated with great fervour across the country. But today also marks the farewell of Goddess Durga. A very beautiful picture has emerged from the famous Kalibari temple of Shimla, where the married women bid farewell to Maa Durga by applying vermilion.