Made It To Explore

This is the 2nd Picture Of My Durga Puja Festival Series which will End with Kali Puja Festival Series In November...
I will be posting my usual pics also along with the series...
This Picture is taken in Kumartuli (Kolkata)

According to the narrative from the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, the form of Durga (The Demon Slayer) was created as a warrior goddess to fight a demon. The demon's father Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahishasur was born out of this union. He is therefore able to change between human and buffalo form at will (mahisha means "buffalo"). Through intense prayers to Brahma, Mahishasura had the boon that he could not be defeated by any man or god. He unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds.

Eventually, since only a woman could kill him, the trinity bestowed a dazzling beam of energy upon the Goddess Trinity (Laxmi, Parvati and Saraswati), transforming her into the goddess, Durga. Her form was blindingly beautiful with three lotus-like eyes, ten powerful hands, lush black hair with beautiful curls, a red-golden glow from her skin and a quarter moon on her forehead. She wore a shiny oceanic blue attire emitting fierce rays. Her ornaments were carved beautifully of gold, with ocean pearls and precious stones embedded in it. Her face was sculpted by Shiva, torso by Indra, breasts by Chandra (the moon), teeth by Brahma, bottom by the Earth, thighs and knees by Varuna (water), and her three eyes by Agni (fire). Each god also gave her their own most powerful weapons, Rudra's trident, Vishnu's discus, Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandal, Kuber's gada, etc. Himalayas gifted her a fierce whitish golden lion. On the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th day of waxing moon, Chanda and Munda came to fight the goddess. She turned blue with anger and goddess Chamunda leaped out of her third eye. Her form was the most powerful one with 3 red eyes, blood-filled tongue and dark skin; who finally killed the twin demons with her sword. This form of the divine goddess is worshipped during the sandhikshan of Durga Puja festival, as sandhi/chandi puja. Finally on the tenth day of waxing moon, goddess Durga killed Mahishasura with her trident.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anirbanbrahma/1196653206/

Howrah Bridge, Kolkata

Photo from Wikipedia.

This is one of the most interesting photos of Howrah Bridge and a favourite.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85296574@N00/263861915/

The museum, Kolkata

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickwoodford/1918359165/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85296574@N00/573449582/

Postal Museum - Calcutta - 1884

Takshall St, Calcutta.
Part of a vast red brick building immediately to the west of the GPO and built in the Italianate style which was popular amongst British colonial architects in India as it allowed a European style building to be adapted to local conditions - making use of arcaded verandahs, loggias and high ceilings.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/3030464779/

亞洲第二大天文台-畢爾拉天文台 Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, India. http://www.indianetzone.com/6/birla_planetarium_kolkata.htm   http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesolson/328067360/in/photostream/   Grand Opera House - Calcutta - 1906 Lindsay St, Calcutta. Located immediately opposite Hogg New Market, the original wooden Opera House was established in 1827. Sold in 1906 to an EM Cohen, it was rebuilt and renamed the Grand Opera House. Cohen promoted it as the top venue in Calcutta for touring vaudeville acts. Later renamed the Globe Theatre, it provided entertainment to Allied troops stationed in Calcutta during WWII. It later became the Globe Cinema but being a single screen theatre, it could not compete with modern multiplex cinemas and it is now used by retailers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/3927492937/ Sir Stuart Saunders Hogg Market, Kolkata - India Sir Stuart Saunders Hogg was an English civil servant in the Indian Civil Services of British India. He was born in 1833 to Sir James Hogg, formerly a director of the British East India Company and the Registrar of the Calcutta High Court. In 1853, at the age of twenty, Stuart Hogg entered the Indian Civil Services. During the Sepoy Mutiny, he was posted in the Punjab. Later, he joined the Bengal government as the Police Commissioner of Calcutta where he established the Detective Department. From 1863 to 1877 he was the Chairman of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. In 1875 he was knighted. New Market, Calcutta, an upscale market that he founded, was named Sir Stuart Hogg Market in 1903 in his honor. It is still often referred to as Hogg's Market. http://www.flickr.com/photos/15193506@N08/2174821717/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/29868194@N08/4394186483/ Hogg Market http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickwoodford/1919170416/ Kolkata New Market Officially known as Sir S Hogg Market, popularly known as the New Market, built in 1874