On Vasant Panchami Saraswati Puja rings in Spring

Heralding the season of Spring, Saraswati Puja is being celebrated across the country, with Dhaka University's Fine Arts faculty students claiming their 35-foot idol is the biggest in the world.

A Hindu festival meant to seek the blessings of Saraswati, students and educationists cutting across religious divide join in the festivities to honour the deity of wisdom, education, fine arts and performing arts. The puja is held on the day of Vasant Panchami every year.

Like other years, students of DU's Fine Arts Faculty have created Jagannath Hall's Saraswati idol this year, too. Made of jute, it has been placed in the hall's pond.

"Thirty-five people worked daily for a month to create the idol," DU Fine Arts student Chanchal Karmakar said. He said it might be the biggest Saraswati idol in the world, and that they have appealed the Guinness Book of World Records to enlist their creation.

Jagannath Hall is the main centre of the puja this year, too, and students from all 52 departments of the university have assembled there to celebrate the puja. With colourful canopies and decorations all around, the dormitory wore a festive look on Saturday.

The puja is also being celebrated at Kuwait Moitri Hall, Rokeya Hall, Shamsun Nahar Hall and Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall.

The festivities kicked off in the early morning with 'anjali' to the deity, followed by prasad being distributed amongst the devotees. The daylong celebrations will wind up with a cultural function after the arati (special prayer) in the evening.