Lakshmi Puja celebrated in Bengal with great fervor

Kolkata: Lakshmi Puja, the worship of the Hindu goddess of wealth, was held with fanfare in households and community marquees across West Bengal on Sunday as devotees kept fast till the conclusion of the rituals.
Popularly known as Kojagori Lakshmi puja in this part of India, it is observed on the first full moon night (Kojagori Purnima) after Durga puja.
The word Kojagori literally means a night of staying awake, in keeping with the religious belief that the goddess visits every house
at night and blesses those who are awake with fortune and prosperity.
Women and children draw colourful patterns (called Alpona) out of rice flour on the floor, across doorways and inside temples, to guide the goddess to these premises. Powdered rice is used to draw the goddess’ feet entering the house.
The deity is being worshipped in the form of clay idols, photographs and earthen discs with paintings of Lakshmi (called ‘pat’), as conch shells reverberate.
The puja also coincides with the harvest festival (Nabanna).
The festivities are heightened by gatherings of friends and relatives, who gorge on generous servings of luchis (fried flour chapatis), mouth-watering vegetables and sugary, besides sweet laddoos and other sweets. (UNI)         (Feature image credit-BanglaLyrics.com)