Silchar,Nov 13: Kali Puja and Diwali, the festival of light, were celebrated today with traditional fervour and gaietyin this Bengali dominated valley of Assam. Entire town of Silchar was illuminated with excellent lighting and the sky in the night was the playground for pyrotechnic.
After the dusk, hundreds of devotee thronged to various Kali temples in general and Smashan Kali Mandir, located at Subhash Nagar. Similar scene could be seen in Shyamanada Ashram, a Kali teample, where the puja was being performed throughout the night amid rendition of kirtan. Crackers thrown in thestreet by some kids or their insensible elders played a spoilsport.
Puja committees were in undeclared competition against each other to outshine the other in decoration and innovation. And it was a boon for the pandal hoppers as they could watch the brilliant lighting and a blend of art and technology.
In Silchar, Janiganj, the business hub as well as the colonies of the Hindi speakingtraders, were always the place of attraction as the Kali puja committee here every year displayed some unique and splendid decoration and work of lighting. This year too they did not disappoint the people of Silchar. Shristi Kali Puja Committee also drew a huge numbers of pandal hoppers with their innovative way of pandal design on facebook theme. Allthe other puja committees of the town tried their best to produce something unique.
Police and administration were in strict vigil as there was no report of any untoward incident. There wasconstant vigil on the markets of crackers so that no objectionable item could be sold. Last year there were a number of incidents where faulty crackers caused accidents.
When the sun rised in the east on the following morning people sat silently for taking Prasad. (SentinelAssam)