Bhopal Bengali community celebrates Saraswati Puja

Goddess Saraswati or Maa Saraswati is the Goddess of wisdom, learning related to music or to formal education, blessings of Goddess Saraswati are necessary. She is worshipped on the day of Basant Panchami, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu almanac.

Bengali community celebrates with gusto. The education of a child begins on this day. Therefore, Bengali families in the state capital are celebrating with great delight. Many children are waiting to start their education. No bells are, however, rung during the worship of the goddess. All musical instruments, books, pens, and pencils are kept at her feet.

Bengalis in the city are ready to welcome her. On the eve of Basant Panchami, some of them told Free Press how they would worship Goddess in their childhood and how they are doing it now.

On Basant Panchami, Bengali children who are past their first birthday are taken to a temple of the Goddess Saraswati, a pencil or chalk is handed over to them and they are made to write an alphabet. It is compulsory for the students to take part in Saraswati Puja and keep their books and copies before the goddess. I used to keep the books of the subject which I found most tough before the Devi. Once, when I was in MBBS third year, I did not visit the temple on the day as I had to appear in an exam. And that year, my performance was not good. Since then, I haven`t missed a single Puja. Now, I go to the temple wearing a yellow sari with a red border and keep my pen before the goddess.