Sindoor khela is central to Dashami celebrations

There are certain occasions when you feel being married is truly one of the best things in life; and Sindoor Khela is indeed one of them. Today is Bijoya Dashami, the day when Goddess Durga ends her joyful stay at her mother's home and starts her journey back to Kailash. Amidst all the heavy hearted moments of bidding adieu to the goddess, the Bengali ladies celebrate her coming for the last time by playing with sindoor (vermillion).
Although, the play resembles Holi, the essence of Sindoor Khela is completely different from the festival of colours. "Today, after the ghat visarjan, the priest keeps a mirror in a certain angle in turmeric mixed water; and ladies queue up to see Goddess Durga's feet in the mirror. This is a rather interesting ritual which also includes putting sindoor on goddess' forehead and feeding her sweets. After this, we all apply sindoor to each other as a final celebration before biding adieu to the goddess," said Sapna Hazra, a member of a Durga puja committee. This is one ritual that breaks the monotony of serious mantras and chants, and gives the women moments of fun.
Priyam Mitra, another ofice-bearer of a Durga puja committee talks about about another angle to the ritual.
She says, "In our custom, it is said that when a married woman returns to her husband's home after a long stay, all the women of her father's house bid her a goodbye by applying vermillion on her forehead and loha (a bangle given by a mother to her daughter at the time of her wedding).
"We follow the same ritual with Maa Durga since she is returning to her husband's place from her mother's. Earlier, women would just limit sindoor to the foreheads, however with every passing year, the ritual has turned in to a fun filled activity that everyone wants to be a part of," she adds. By the end of the ritual, almost every woman is tearful because they feel sad bidding Goddess Durga good-bye.
These days, certain aspects of sindoor khela have changed. Earlier, it used to be limited to married women, now partly shared by some girls who will get married in the near future. Today, the women come dressed in traditional white and red border saree and every one has plates filled with vermillion, sweets, rice and durba.
Manjushree Ganguly, a woman participating in the sindoor khela said, "On this day, we forget our personal enemities and colour each other red. This is also one way to celebrate the feeling of being married and every married woman looks forward to this fun ritual."