Mamata Banerjee at south Kolkata's Chetla Agrani Club pandal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee started her Durga Puja celebrations with an artistic touch.
On Tuesday, Mahalaya, she painted the third eye on the forehead of an image of Goddess Durga and then went on to chant mantras in Sanskrit to flag off West Bengal's annual extravaganza.
The Chief Minister was a special guest at Chetla Agrani Club in south Kolkata, where well-known artist Sanatan Dinda has created the image of the goddess and the 'pandal' in which she is housed. The pandal is made entirely of ladders. The club's president is Firhad Hakim, the state's minister for urban affairs.
Ms Banerjee began by painting the third eye and then went on to touch up the lips of the image. She seemed very satisfied with her efforts. So was the artist who created it.
Asked if he was a little nervous about the Chief Minister accidentally marring the image, artist Sanatan Dinda said, "Not at all! After all, Didi is also an artist herself".
The Durga Puja officially begin from September 30.