According to a popular belief, Maa Durga returns to her mother Menoka and father Giriraj during puja. Arriving with her sons Kartik and Ganesh, daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati, and two friends Jaya and Bijoya, Durga stays with her parents for four days, only to return to Shivalaya on ‘Dashami’.

On the eve of her Maa Durga’s departure, the women play with “sindur” and pray for all of their long and happy wedded lives.
Sindur Khela evokes divinity among women. It is not easy to articulate the range of emotions that women experience while offering sindur to Maa Durga. The shakti, that divine power, the sense of peace, and being one with Maa has been experienced by countless women.

The red and white sari, the “boron” thali, the sound of dhak and conch, the powerful image of Maa as the conqueror of evil makes the ritual a force to reckon with. This also marks the culmination of the puja festivities so emotions run high when women smear sindur (vermillion) on their foreheads, laugh and cry, and offer mishti and paan to each other. It is a sight of pure unadulterated joy! Sindur Khela, unequivocally, creates a kinship amongst women that no other ritual can. We, at Prabasi, welcome one and all, to come and be a part of our Sindur Khela. You will love the positivity, the inclusiveness, and the good vibes that is the central theme of our puja. Isn’t this also the essence of what Durga Pujas are all about?

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