Guwahati, Oct. 10: There was a lull at the Uzanbazar Barowari Puja mandap this afternoon but one could sense that the surge was around the corner.

In a few hours, head priest Tarun Sarma, or Tarun deo as he is known, would start with the bel boron — a ritual to welcome the Goddess on Sashthi — at this 124-year-old Puja.

“The idols have been installed at the mandap this afternoon and we will start with the Sashthi rituals by evening. The ambience is quiet now. But things might change in a few hours,” said the 77-year-old Sarma while flexing the sacred thread (lagun) to be tied around the idols of Ganesh and Kartik.

Half a kilometre away, at the Guwahati Sarbajanin Durga Puja in Latasil, workers were giving the finishing touches to a pandal, which was a Balaji Temple lookalike.

Similar scenes were seen at Kamarpatty, where a 30-foot demon turned heads towards the pandal.

On the fringes of Lakhi Mandir, Beltola, a display of a “real time demon” — rhino poaching — left a few to wait and ponder as well.

The mood in Assam’s capital city was pretty upbeat, as revellers geared up to celebrate Durga Puja.

By evening, the pandals, particularly the one at Rest Camp in Pandu, were lit up to glory and grandeur, with beats of the dhaks in the background only adding to the Sashthi spirit.

The markets were chock-a-block with last-minute shoppers thronging them till late in the evening.

“The footfall has been high over the past week but purchases have been of a lower value, what with the price of yarn skyrocketing. But with the mood to splurge still on, very few have left our outlet empty handed,” said Vinod Goenka, proprietor of Goenka Traders, the landmark shop at Fancy Bazar.

Buyers cutting across income and age groups were seen at the commercial hub. “It’s my first day of shopping and I have bought clothes for everyone. After all, we have to wear something new on Ashtami,” Dulal Das, an autorickshaw driver, said as he “ploughed” through the crowd on a pavement in the Kamarpatty area.

The salons saw women avail of some special packages as well.

“The past few days have been hectic. We have introduced special packages for all income groups. Some of them start as low as Rs 200,” said Bhanu Sharmah, beauty expert and proprietor of D’Parloric Beauty Clinic.

Going by Met office reports, the weather gods, too, are with the pandal hoppers.

“The current meteorological conditions suggest that the weather in the next three days will be bright and pleasant in the region. The mercury levels in Guwahati will fluctuate between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius,” meteorologist Sunit Das told The Telegraph.

Over 400 Puja committees have set up pandals in Kamrup (metropolitan) district with the administration leaving nothing to chance. “All arrangements are in place,” said Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner Ashutosh Agnihotri.

Guwahati traffic police have also made arrangements. “We have imposed restrictions on the movement, entry and parking of vehicles,” said Bibekananda Das, superintendent of police, traffic (city).