With India's vaccination pace picking up, the five-day Durga Puja celebrations began this week in Bengal, Delhi and other parts of the country. Grand pandals, beautiful idols, and revelers in colourful outfits with masks on - vivid pictures capture the festive vibes.
On the eighth day of the Navratri festival, Maha Ashtami, which is today, Goddess Mahagauri is worshipped. Believed to be an extreme manifestation of Goddess Durga, she is known as Goddess Mahagauri.
For the Bengali community celebrating Durga Puja with great flair, Maha Ashtami sees the worship of the Chamunda incarnation of Goddess Shakti.
It is believed that during Goddess Durga's epic battle with Mahishasura, she killed demons - Chanda, Munda, and Raktabija - on Ashtami.
Social media is flooded with pictures of revelry, people visiting pandals and greetings.
Political personalities and public personalities are also sharing tweets and photos.
Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Group conglomerate, took to Twitter to post pictures of a unique pandal.
He wrote, "Before you think it's a library, let me tell you it's a Durga puja pandal. This is only possible in Bengal!!"
Jitin Prasada, Cabinet minister by State Government of Uttar Pradesh posted, "The nine days of Durga Puja are incomplete without a visit to a Puja pandal. Beautiful and festive."
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb was among others who posted beautiful pictures.
A person walk past workers decorating of a makeshift place of worship for Durga Puja with a theme in support the ongoing farmers protest against the central government's agricultural reforms, in Kolkata.
Priests perform rituals in front of an idol of the Goddess Durga on the occasion of Durga Puja festival in Kolkata
The clay idol of Hindu goddess Durga in Ahmedabad.
Devotees carry girls dressed as Hindu goddess Durga for the 'Kumari' rituals during the Durga Puja festival at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.
A girl dressed as Hindu goddess Durga distributes protective face masks as part of a Covid-19 coronavirus awareness campaign ahead of the Durga Puja festival.
Vendors arrange flowers for sale at roadside shops during the Durga Puja festival.
The nine-day festival of Navratri is dedicated to the nine forms of goddess Durga, which are Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri.
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