The much-anticipated Sharadiya Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindu community, will commence tomorrow with the invocation of Goddess Durga on Maha Shasthi. Temples and makeshift mandaps across the country will come alive with fervent religious devotion and celebration.

The five-day festival kicks off with Kalparambho in the morning, followed by various rites, including Adhibash and Amantran (invitation), in the late afternoon.

On October 10, the second day of the celebration, Maha Saptami puja will be held in the morning. During this ceremony, the nabapatrika—a collection of nine plants, including a banana tree, tied together and wrapped in a white saree with red borders—will be bathed in the holy waters of the Ganges and placed beside the idol of Lord Ganesha.

The third day, Maha Ashtami, falls on October 11 and will feature a range of rituals, including Ashtami puja, Anjali offerings, Kumari Puja, and Sandhi Puja in the morning.

This year, Maha Nabami tithi will also begin on the same day and last until 6:12 a.m. on October 12. Rituals for Maha Nabami will be observed on both days.

Dashami Puja will also take place on both October 12 and 13, marking the end of the festival with the immersion of idols in nearby rivers or ponds. Traditionally, the largest immersion ceremony occurs at Cox's Bazar, the world's longest natural sea beach.

According to legend, Goddess Durga descends to Earth from heaven during the puja, and this year she will arrive on a palanquin.

To facilitate the celebration, the government has extended the Durga Puja holidays by one day, granting Thursday, October 10, as a public holiday. This will provide government employees with a total of four days off, including the weekend (Friday and Saturday) and October 13 (Sunday), which is already designated as a holiday for Bijoya Dashami.

A festive atmosphere envelops the nation in anticipation of Durga Puja, with mandaps set to resonate with devotional chants, the fragrance of incense (dhup), the beats of drums (dhak-dhol), and the sounds of kansar-mandira and ululation (uludhoni).

This year, Durga Puja will be celebrated at 31,461 mandaps nationwide, including 252 in the capital. Santosh Sharma, general secretary of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP), stated that volunteers, alongside law enforcement agencies, will be deployed at all puja mandaps across the country during the festival.

In Dhaka, notable puja mandaps include the Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Math and Mission, Banani, Kalabagan, Shakhari Bazar, Shiddeshwari Kali Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir, Jagannath Hall at Dhaka University, Khamar Bari at Farmgate, Lalbagh Rishipara, Rajarbagh Kalimandir, and the old part of Dhaka, including Tanti Bazar.

In addition to religious rituals, the Dhakeshwari National Temple will host various events, including devotional song performances, clothing distribution, Aroti competitions, and voluntary blood donation drives.

Durga Puja will also be celebrated on a large scale in major divisional cities such as Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Sylhet, as well as in district towns like Faridpur, Dinajpur, Cox's Bazar, Kushtia, Gopalganj, and Satkhira.

According to Hindu texts, during Treta Yuga, Lord Rama Chandra fought against the demon king Ravana. In his quest to rescue Goddess Sita, Rama worshiped Goddess Adyashakti Mahamaya (Devi Durga) during the autumn to gain strength for his battle against sin. This historic victory marks the reason for the annual celebration of Durgotsab in the autumn.

To ensure safety during the Durga Puja celebrations, comprehensive security measures will be implemented across the country. A central control room will be established at the Dhakeshwari National Temple premises, as is customary, to oversee security at puja mandaps throughout the capital.