Alok Mishra
Aurangabad: The drizzle since Sunday morning till afternoon did not dampen the spirit of the puja revelers in Aurangabad town, who came out in large number to worship Maa Durga on Maha Aastmi day of nine days Navratra at different puja pandals in the city. Some of the big puja pandals are located at By Pass Chowk, Dharmashala Chowk and Mahavir Club.
A large number of devotees particularly women started thronging different puja pandals since morning to seek the blessings of Maa Durga. Small shops selling puja materials and flowers have come up near the pandals so that the devotees did not have any problem in procuring the puja materials. The entire city wore a festive look with puja organizers vying with each other in decorating their respective pandals. The organizers used their resources in beautifying the pandals with electric lights and festoons. Though the devotees take plain food sans onion and garlic, several shops selling eatables have also come up attracting the youths. Toy shops and balloon stalls have also come up.
Bhuneshwar Singh, who had come out with his family to worship Maa Durga, said that the intermittent rains have spoiled the puja this year. His wife Shweta Singh said that rains or no rain, we have to seek the blessings of Maa Durga.
The younger generation was busy in taking selfie with the help of their latest cellphones. “This is the chance when we can display the costly cellphones that we have purchased,” said some of the youths at Mahavir Club. Though the priests had a tough time in dealing with such young devotees, the youths even from a distance took several selfies.
After the puja, kids were seen purchasing toys and other things of their choice. Five year old Harsh had purchased a sword while his three year old sister Ruchi was satisfied with a locally made Barbie doll.