Durga Puja, the most important Hindu religious festival in Bengal, was earlier this month. It honors the goddess Durga’s defeat of the demon Mahishasura. Elaborate temporary structures called pandals are constructed to house intricate icons depicting Durga on her mount (a lion) slaying Mahishasura with Shiva’s trident. Durga’s four children (Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Kartik) are depicted as well. There are thousands of these put up throughout Kolkata. The creativity and engineering that goes into many of these is unbelievable. At the end of the 5-day festival, the idols of Durga are immersed in the Hooghly River.
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