West Bengal celebrates Saraswati Puja amid festive fervour

Kolkata: Saraswati Puja was celebrated across West Bengal amid a festive fervour on Sunday.

This time, the festival is being celebrated over two days as the Panchami 'tithi' or the auspicious time will continue till Monday morning.

The festival, held on Basanta Panchami, was celebrated at schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions. Community clubs, housing societies and Hindu households also organised the puja.

Students in traditional attires, such as kurtas and sarees, visited their campuses during the day, marked by love, laughter and sumptuous lunch, mainly 'khichudi' offered to the goddess.

A tussle between two groups of students over organising Saraswati Puja on the campus of a law college in south Kolkata saw the intervention of Education Minister Bratya Basu.

Basu, along with the local TMC MP Mala Roy, visited the Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College where one group of students organised Saraswati Puja on the campus under the supervision of police as directed by the high court, while the other group held it on the road outside.

On the lines of Durga Puja, theme pandals on various issues were set up by students at many places.

In Batanagar in South 24 Parganas, the Newland Ground Saraswati Puja Committee built an idol that was over 100 ft tall. Tala Prottoy, known for its Durga Puja marquees, used geometric structures to decorate its pandal.