Guwahati, Oct. 20: Spirits were high on Saptami with Durga Puja revellers thronging pandals across Upper and lower Assam, Tripura and other parts of the Northeast from morning till late at night.
In one of the Pujas in Guwahati, chief minister Tarun Gogoi travelled back in time to recall the "fewer and simpler" Pujas in his younger days compared to today's glitz.
"The Puja used be much simpler and fewer in those days. Today it is all glitz," he told reporters at the Dispur Barowari Puja Samiti at Ganeshguri this morning.
The chief attractions of Puja festivities those days, he recalled, were theatre and cinema. "Few would miss that," he said. He also remembered the parathas and the jalebis which people would relish.
Accompanied by his wife Dolly, Gogoi offered Maha Saptami puja and sought blessings from the deities for peace and prosperity in the state and for the welfare of humanity.
"We seek Ma Durga's blessings," he said, adding that the state had done well since 2001, but more needed to be done.
Looked at the future, especially the Assembly elections in about six months, he warned of the spreading tentacles of disruptive communal forces without naming anyone. "If people still want them, then so be it," he said.
He appealed to the people to work together to check all evil and communal forces.
"The 5,000-year-old Indian civilization has always put diversity, pluralism and religious tolerance on the top. However, the sequel of events taking place at the moment has disturbed Indian culture, traditions and customs," Gogoi said.
The festive fervour was marked by the beats of the dhak and chanting of mantras in pandals since Sasthi yesterday.
The district administration and the traffic department has made arrangements to regulate smooth flow of traffic in the city.
In and around Guwahati, theme Pujas, innovation and competitions are grabbing the headlines and wooing people.
Around 500 Puja pandals have been set up in the Kamrup (metro) district alone.
The Guwahati Sarbajanin Durga Puja Samiti (Latasil) pandal replicates the Vaishno Devi temple while Rest Camp Kalibari Durga Utsav Samiti has a replica of the Victoria Memorial. Sri Sri Durga Puja Committee, Sector 2, Noonmati, is sending a "save-the-birds" message to the people this year.
In Bongaigaon district, over 100 Puja pandals are drawing the crowds this year. Among them, North West Colony in New Bongaigaon drew large crowds till late in the evening.
In Jorhat, people in large numbers thronged the 78 Puja pandals set up in and around the town, including the over 220-year-old Buri Guxani Dewal temple and the Jorhat Town Station Sarbajanin Puja where a 60-metre tunnel to the pandal (replicating the Vaishno Devi temple) is a major attraction.
Peace, nature and wealth are some of the dominant themes in Jorhat town.
The Jorhat district administration has converted parts of Gar Ali and AT Road into pedestrian zones where the entry of vehicles has been barred from 11am till midnight.
The scene was no different in Agartala and its periphery. Over 750 Puja committees, including Ramthakur Sangha, Aikatan Sangha, Santipara, Samhati Sangha, Haradhan Sangha, have been wooing the crowds since Sunday.
Extensive security arrangements have been made across Tripura to ensure a smooth and peaceful Puja.
However, there was an attempt to foil a Puja organised by people from both the Hindu and Muslim communities in a village under Boxanagar police station in Sonamura subdivision under North Tripura district. Sonamura sub-divisional police officer Ashok Kumar Sinha said people belonging to both the communities went ahead in organising a Puja despite attempts by trouble mongers to disrupt proceedings in Bhaishkhola village. On Sunday night, there were attempts by goons to damage the idols.
Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang today extended best wishes to people on Durga Puja and for Dussehra, reports PTI. He said the festivals, convey the message of goodwill and humanity and the conquest of good over evil, were also celebrated with great joy and festivity in Nagaland.
