Tears, rituals and crowds mark Durga Puja immersions across Chattogram

The Durga Puja festival which began on Shashthi with the awakening of Anandamayi has drawn to a close on Dashami, as devotees bid farewell to the goddess with the solemn ritual of "mirror immersion". On Thursday morning, after the Bijoya Dashami prayers were completed, worshippers offered flowers and sprinkled sanctified water before immersing the mirror. According to Hindu belief, after Nabami Puja, Goddess Durga leaves the mortal realm and returns to her divine abode. The mirror immersion marks the official end of the Trinayani Puja. Once the ritual was completed, pavilions across the city prepared to send off the goddess. With sindoor, betel leaves and sweets placed before her, devotees parted with moist eyes, awaiting the return of Durga --...