As every year, the traditional Saraswati Puja is being grandly celebrated at the Jagannath Hall ground of Dhaka University. This celebration is highly praised worldwide. This year, 72 departments and institutes of the university are coming together to celebrate in joy and enthusiasm. The main attraction is the large idol of Goddess Saraswati installed by the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts in the pond of the hall. A grand cultural evening will take place at 7 PM on Tuesday.
On Monday (February 3), the Principal Administrative Officer of Jagannath Hall, Sanjit Kumar Dutta, confirmed this information to the Daily Observer in the afternoon.
The worship of Goddess Saraswati continued throughout the day. On the following day, Tuesday (February 4), the two-day celebration will conclude with a cultural programme. In addition to Jagannath Hall, five girls' halls have also organized the puja. The puja began at 9 AM in all the pandals, followed by the offering of Anjali at 11 AM. the Jagannath Hall administration are overseeing the entire puja process.
The Provost of Jagannath Hall, Debashish Pal, told the Daily Observer, "In exchange for the sacrifices of the martyrs of the July popular uprising, we have earned a secular Bangladesh. Just like every year, this year the Saraswati Puja is being celebrated in full grandeur at Jagannath Hall. However, this time, there are more people here from various places, which is very encouraging.Everything is going very smoothly in the puja grounds so far."
He further added, "To my knowledge, this is not just the largest celebration in Dhaka; no other place in the world hosts so many pujas for Saraswati at once."
Anjali began in the field at 8:30 AM, and since then, current students, alumni, resident teachers, staff members, and people of all religions and nationalities gathered at the puja pandals. Dhaka University's Saraswati Puja serves as a powerful response to the propaganda against Bangladesh.
Prosenjit Sarkar Nayan, a resident of Jagannath Hall and a student of the English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) department, told the Daily Observer, "We worship Goddess Saraswati to establish knowledge and music throughout the world. On this day, the first lessons of children are also performed in front of the goddess. This annual puja at Dhaka University glorifies the entire Saraswati Puja celebration."
Gautam Halder, the Executive President of the Bangladesh Jatiyo Hindu Jubo Mohajot, said, "Our Sanatan religious culture always conveys the message of peace, harmony, and brotherhood."
Tanmay Malakar, a Civil Engineering student from BUET, shared, "I'm impressed by the overall atmosphere of the puja. I'm overwhelmed by the presence of so many people. I've visited many pandals, but I think it would have been great if there had been one large idol with the government's funding instead of so many smaller pandals."
This year, one pandal has been set up by Jagannath Hall, 72 by different departments and institutions, and one by the staff and officers of Jagannath Hall, making a total of 74 pandals.
The highest administration of Dhaka University, through constant and effective supervision, is ensuring the safety of the puja grounds and the entire hall premises, with necessary personnel and technical support from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the National Security Intelligence (NSI), Shahbagh Police Station, the Fire Service, the Border Guard Bangladesh, and other security agencies.
