Thiya Samaj celebrated Annual Durga Puja
Dubai: Thiya Samaj family celebrated Annual Durga Puja on Friday, 2nd November 2018 at The Sindhi Ceremonial Hall, Bur Dubai. Nearly 220 people including life members, patrons and general devotees arrived to take part in the puja. The celebration provided a unique opportunity for devotees to participate in the festivities and experience the divine bliss.
The day began with lighting of ceremonial lamp by sumangalis with Prarthane, Sri Gauri Ganesh Puja, Kalasha Puja followed by Sri Durga Kalpokta Puja & Ashtottara Shatanamavali and finally culminated with Maha Mangalarathi and Maha Prasada distribution.
All the puja vidhis were performed by the representative couple, Mr. & Mrs. Ravi Kotian under the expert guidance of Purohit, Mr. Raghu Bhat.
Adhering to this year’s puja theme, Ms. Pallavi had created a Bhagavathi Kshetra backdrop against which the idol of Goddess Durga was placed. The brilliantly painted backdrop took all the devotees present back home where Navratri is celebrated with pomp and splendour. The devotees joyfully circumambulated the kshetra at the time of the Prasada distribution.
The excellent use of all other décor elements such as drapes and shimmering lights by Mr. & Mrs. Rajeeva Billava made the Mandap one to remember!
The smiling face of Goddess Durga and mesmerizing beautiful alankara adorned with flowers and ornaments was a beauty to behold and it brought divine serenity to the minds of all the devotees present. It will not be an exaggeration to tell that even two eyes were not enough to see this splendour.
Led by Rajarajeshwari Bhajan Mandali, the soul-stirring bhajans enchanted everyone present and transported everyone to another plane. The whole environment became lively and it kept the energies high at the exuberant celebration. Also, the ladies sang Lalitha Sahasranaam & Ashtalakshmi stotrams in the glory of the Goddess praising her virtues, aspects, greatness and manifestations.
Several veteran members and sponsors like Mr. Roshan Bolar, Mr. Jagannath Kotian, Mr. Damodar Amin and a few others were felicitated for their generous contributions towards the Samaj.
Biscuit hampers and candies were given away as gifts for kids. As a key to understanding our culture and to transmit our rich heritage to our next generation, a book “The Legend of Devi Bhagavathi” was distributed to kids which retells the story of Devi Bhagavathi and provides an introduction to her 18 kshetras, temple festivals like Nadavali & Bharani, and our matrilineal lineage system.
A sumptuous feast followed. A special thanks to all our committee members and volunteers who made this year’s festival happen. Thiya Samaj family thanks all the devotees who attended the event and made it a memorable one!