Farewell bells ring at Puja pavilions

Hindu devotees are paying tribute to Goddess Durga at pavilions through the 'Bihit Puja' and 'mirror immersion' rituals on Maha Nabami - the ninth day of the Durga Puja - starting to bring down the curtains on the festival as the moment of immersion approaches.
Devotees were seen making offerings to the goddess and chanting as drums rang out at the Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka on Saturday.
As per the lunar calendar, Dashami's Bihit Puja and mirror immersion have been performed after Maha Nabami rituals this year.
Priest Pranab Chakraborty of the national temple told bdnews24.com, "The Nabami rituals had begun on Friday and lasted until 6:13am on Saturday. Thus we performed Nabami's Bihit Puja in the morning. According to the almanac, the last time for Nabami rituals was 9:20am."
"Here, the devotees made offerings to the goddess at 8:50am as the Nabami rituals ended at 8:30am. Dashami's Bihit Puja began afterwards."
Pranab said, "Dashami Puja has started from 6:14am and it will continue until 7:45pm. Per the lunar calendar, the rituals will be held in the daytime, that's why we are performing Dashami Puja after Nabami."
According to Hindu tradition, the Goddess Durga manifests in the mortal realm in her 10-armed form on Mahalaya in a bid to eliminate evil. The festival lasts for five days, culminating in the Dashami rituals with the immersion of the goddess's idol.
This year's Durga Puja began with Mahalaya on Oct 2. The five-day-long festival then kicked off with Shashthi on Wednesday and the celebration will come to an end through the immersion of the idol on Sunday.
UNB adds: Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus visited Dhakeswari Temple in Old Dhaka to exchange greetings with the Hindu community on the auspicious occasion of Durga Puja, the largest Hindu religious festival in Bangladesh.
He extended his greetings to the country's all members of the Hindu community.
Earlier, Prof Yunus said Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony.
"Durga Puja is not only a festival of the Hindu community… it has now become a festival for all. The destruction of evil forces and the worship of truth and beauty are the main features of the festival," he said in a message.