Dussehra Goddess Durga & Pandal Hopping
Dussehra Goddess Durga & Pandal hopping
The Saradiya (autumn) Durga Puja is celebrated with great pomp and show across the state in its typical fashion. Grand and colourfully illuminated puja pandals with dazzling lights, gigantic gates and huge tableaux are the hallmarks of the festival.
While in Cuttack, the attraction is the silver backdrop and gold ornaments, in Bhubaneswar it’s the Pandals which catches the attention, whereas in Puri, the festival is called GossainiYatra, and is marked by fierce looking Mahisamardini killing Mahisasura (the demon with a head of a buffalo and body of a human, hence the name)
In Western Odisha, during the Mahastami (eighth day of the festival), women observeBhai Juntia, wherein the ladies fast and pray for the long life of their brothers.
