With the starting of the first Navratri and the Nav Samvatsar (Hindu New Year), the holy city is wearing a festive look.
The shops in the holy city are bedecked and vendors selling prasad and puja articles are seen dotting the temple roads. In temples to the goddess like Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi, a number of devotees thronged to offer their prayers while others visited Har ki Paidi for a dip in the Ganga river.
Speaking to this correspondent, astrologer Pradeep Joshi from Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya said, “After Amavasya (dark moon) snan on Saturday, the first auspicious Navratri has begun from Saturday evening at 6:42 pm and this would last till March 26, 5:54 am.”