The autumn Durga festival in Bangladesh is starting from Sunday morning with Shasthi Puja and will end with Vijaya Dashami on October 2.
Hindus have completed preparations for the festival in their homes to announce the arrival of Goddess Durga, and the atmosphere of worship is in the alleys and markets of Dhaka. The diverse culture of Bangladesh is dazzling like every year this time too.
Old Dhaka's traditional Shankhari Bazaar is now a city of festivals. The area is bustling with buyers and sellers from morning till late at night. Organizers are busy buying clothes, ornaments and various decorative items for Goddess Durga and her children to decorate the puja mandap, and ordinary buyers are also flocking to buy new conch shells, vermilion, clothes and ornaments for themselves and their families.
From Saturday morning to evening, Shankhari Bazaar has become colorful and lively. Every shop in the alley, on both sides of the road, is decorated with puja accessories, conch shells, vermilion, lamps, ornaments for decorating goddess idols and new clothes. A crowd of buyers has been gathering since the beginning of the day. Some are choosing the necessary items to decorate the goddess idols, some are buying conch shells and new clothes for themselves or their families, some are haggling. Inside the shops, rows of buyers are sitting, choosing conch shells by hand, while some are calling the shopkeeper for special items.
Shopkeepers are opening boxes one after another and placing them in front of the buyers. Rows of white conch shells, lamps, incense sticks and other puja accessories are arranged in glass cabinets. Women are carefully comparing the sizes and buying conch shells, while male buyers are also busy choosing their necessary items.
Talking to shopkeepers in Shankhari Bazaar, it was learned that this year's sales are much better than last year. Conch shells, lamps, incense sticks, vermilion, Thakur garlands, crowns and bronze items are in high demand. They say that even though there is a recession throughout the year, Durga Puja is the main season for business.
Subal Chandra Das, owner of 'Mridanga Sur', said, 'This is our main time. There is not much work throughout the year. Every day before the puja, we receive orders for repairing musical instruments from dawn to dusk.'
Samaresh, owner of 'Mataji Emporium', said, 'This time the sales are better than last time. People are coming from far and wide. Conch shells, vermilion, pots, lamps, Thakur garlands - the demand for these is high.'
Housewife Geeta Rani Das said, 'I come here every year. Vermilion, lamps, pots, everything is available in one place. Although the prices are a bit high, I don't think about it in the joy of puja.'
Shantanu Majumdar, a businessman from Mirpur, said, "I have come to place a large order for decorations for the mandap in our area. Good things are available here at wholesale prices. So there is no other place to go than Shankhari Bazaar before the Puja."
Retired government official Bimal Kanti Dey said, "The joy of the Puja is incomplete if you don't come to Shankhari Bazaar. I have been coming here since childhood, and I still get that old vibe."
Along with Shankhari Bazaar, the nearby Tatibazar has also seen an increase in the number of buyers around the Puja. When I went there on Saturday afternoon, I saw that some people, regardless of gender, were buying new jewelry, some were melting old jewelry and getting new designs, and many were getting rid of old mortgaged gold.
Ruma Dutta, who had come to buy a pair of earrings for her daughter, said, "There is a special joy in buying new jewelry during the Puja. Even though the price is a bit high, I came with the idea that I have to buy new jewelry for the Puja."
Srabanyanath Thakur, a local of Tanti Bazar, said, "Shankharibazar is not just a shopping center, but a symbol of the arrival of Puja. Thousands of people come here not only to shop, but also to feel the atmosphere of Puja. Now, the sound of drums and drums, colorful decorations and the excitement of crowds are floating in every alley. It can be said that the entire Shankhari Bazar is now a mini Durga festival on the occasion of the arrival of Goddess Durga."
