Raipurites say goodbye to Ma Durga with sindoor khela

It is that time of the year when the Bengali community of the whole world feels heartbroken to bid adieu to Ma Durga, who leaves for Kailash on Vijay Dashami. To see her off, the women participate in a ceremony called sindoor khela.
More than 500 ladies participated in this celebration on the last day of Durga Puja in the city, which continued throughout the day.The celebrations began with applying sindoor (vermillion powder) on the Goddess’ feet, following which the women participated in the revelry by smearing red sindoor on each other. Considering it auspicious, all the ladies were dressed in the traditional Bengali avatar with new saris, ornaments and holding pan leaves. The procession was followed by an enthusiastic Dhunuchi dance by the enthusiastic devotees.