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Spotlight
 Puja on the Campus
Nazia Ahmed
Amidst the swirling smoke and scintilla of burning incense, the hysterical children go about in a merry-go-round celebrating triumph of good over evil, in front of Ma Durga, her two watchful eyes, standing erect, riding a lion and wielding a weapon in each of her ten arms, and yet extending them out to her children of the heavens and the earth. Stomped under her left foot lies the slain demon Mahisasur.
On the puja mandop at the Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University, the incarnation of Ma Durga glows as hundreds of Hindu devotees bow in front of her to ask for forgiveness.
 Jagannath hall gives a rather civic ambience to the whole occasion. The singing, dancing, sharing of Prasads or the sweets offered from the mandap give a festive feeling and attracts a lot of people from other religions as well.
As all the pathways crisscrossing the hall area glow with little lights, there is a vibrant mood in the air. It is the day before "Bishorjon", known as the "Nobomi" of the Sharadiya Durga Puja. Women in colourful sari amble, many of them proudly wearing "shindur" on their forehead, in between the delicately combed partings of their hair. Men wearing dhutis with short Punjabi wait by the elevated altar as the ladies' place their offerings at the feet of the goddess.
Children of different ages ranging from toddlers wearing crowns made of lights and colorful stones and vibrant colored lehangas to teenagers with dangling earrings and salwar kameez gather around the chotpoti, ornament and bangle stalls with their parents and enjoy this celebration. There was tight security in the mandaps all around the town.
Moving around in Kali mandir, an old lady in torn attire sitting beside the mandap caught my eyes. She gloomily sits and bows her head in front of Ma, perhaps anticipating miracles to wash off the distress showing clearly on her face.
The music, the dhup and the message of good triumphing over evil bind us all together.
“Durga Puja may be the religious festival of the Hindu community, but it is a social occasion that pulls people from all religious faiths to prove that we are still secular”, says Dipankar Ray, a devotee.
 Tight security in the mandaps all around the town.
Moving around in Kali mandir, an old lady in torn attire sitting beside the mandap caught my eyes. She gloomily sits and bows her head in front of Ma, perhaps anticipating miracles to wash off the distress showing clearly on her face.
The music, the dhup and the message of good triumphing over evil bind us all together.
“Durga Puja may be the religious festival of the Hindu community, but it is a social occasion that pulls people from all religious faiths to prove that we are still secular”, says Dipankar Ray, a devotee.
Puja is traditionally celebrated in different Universities, including Dhaka University. The Puja Uthsav Community in Jagannath Hall organizes and co-ordinates the ceremonies with the help of government aids. The most remarkable feature of this tradition is that, the students of different departments alternately arrange and co- ordinate these events on a rather competitive level with each other.
"We craft individual mandaps of puja from different departments like Physics, Chemistry, Law, and others and compete to be the best every year. We are directly involved with the ceremonies and in the end the department with the best mandap wins!" Says Onirban Gupta, a resident of Jagannath hall. "The Upashonaloy (Mandir) is restricted for the students in jagannath Hall, but during the Puja Festivals its open for the common people." Says Mukesh Sarkar, resident of Jagannath hall.
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