Saraswati Puja is celebrated by Bengalis the world over. Not only is it celebrated in temples but also in people's homes. Bengali children from a young age are accustomed to relinquishing their textbooks to their mothers for auspicious reasons. Mothers will stack textbooks a top one another and perform the puja so that their children may do well in their studies. Saraswati Puja is celebrated in the temple by the LMBCS and is a much smaller ceremony than that of Durga Puja. It starts in the morning and is over in the afternoon. As always a full vegetarian lunch is served after the puja. In the last few years, Byuva, a youth group lead by some of the young adults from the community, has organized learning sessions for the younger children so that they can understand where the puja originated. The sessions are always met with lots of interest from the kids and the parents love it. |
