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<ul><li>Millions of people will hit <keyword id="6357908" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="durga-puja">Durga Puja</keyword> Pandals today to celebrate one of the world's biggest street festivals. </li><li>The Durga Puja festival, a 10-day long carnival is celebrated early October. </li><li>One of the artists crafted Durga idols made of 50 kg pure gold worth ₹500 million. </li><li>Here are some pictures of Durga Puja pandals across the country. </li></ul>Millions of people will hit Durga Puja Pandals today to celebrate one of the world's biggest street festivals. The Durga Puja festival, a 10-day long carnival is celebrated early October. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Goddess Durga comes down to Earth by her four children to visit her parents. She is also known to have slayed the demon Mahishashur, during the same period. Business Insider India picked up the top Durga puja pandals created across several states to celebrate the festival. This community festival is celebrated in the company of friends and family. They also relish foods at street stalls and and patiently stand in long queues to visit the statues of the Goddess. <div type="image" title="AF8F1DFB-59C2-48E7-B636-125B1C75F428" msid="71480280" hostid="261"></div>

 There are several puja committees which create pandals, or marquees, of all shapes and sizes. <div type="image" title="e3cdaf690671f9516b57061bfbd5b10a" msid="71480281" hostid="261"></div>
 One of the artists crafted Durga idols made of 50 kg pure gold worth ₹500 million. Artists also recreated India’s historic mission to the moon, Chandrayaan 2, at puja pandals in Nagpur and Varanasi. <div type="image" title="Nagpur: A replica of &amp;#39;Chandrayaan&amp;#39; made into a Durga Puja pandal during Navratri..." msid="71480273" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A replica of &amp;#39;Chandrayaan&amp;#39; made into a Durga Puja pandal during Navratri Festival, in Nagpur.Photo) (&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 In Kolkata, around 3,000 community pujas and 5,000 family pujas are being held. Another 25,000 community pujas were organised by local clubs, non-government and social organizations. <div type="image" title="A5B87F24-3319-44AD-B15A-1D467DE69216" msid="71480282" hostid="261"></div>
 The puja festivities and prayers begin on the sixth day of the first quarter of the moon and end on Dashami or the 10th day, celebrated across the country as Dassehra. <div type="image" title="7E370E5F-8BF7-4926-A959-14F3DA6AC6F7" tempid="77742" msid="71480321" hostid="261"></div>

 The main fervor starts from the seventh (Saptami), eighth (Ashtami), and ninth (Navami) day when people start visiting the pandal for celebration. 
	<div type="image" title="Kolkata: A Durga Puja pandal themed on letter-box during the ongoing Durga Puja ..." msid="71480291" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A Durga Puja pandal themed on letter-box during the ongoing Durga Puja festival, at Chetla Agrani, in Kolkata.Photo) (&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 The festival concludes the 10th day, called Vijayadashami. 
 <div type="image" title="F0921F65-4097-4C8C-9D8E-E2100B410DE9" tempid="77748" msid="71480322" hostid="261"></div>

See how artists blend faith with India's moon mission, obsession with gold, and much more during one of India's biggest religious festivals

New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): The <keyword id="19921618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Confederation-of-All-India-Traders" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Confederation of All India Traders" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Confederation of All India Traders">Confederation of All India Traders</keyword> (CAIT) on Sunday anticipated a <keyword id="22830196" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-trade" source="keywords">festive trade</keyword> of over Rs 12,000 crore across the country during the <keyword id="21167659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rakhi" source="keywords">Rakhi</keyword> festival. The trade body said that the markets are witnessing a massive rush for <keyword id="22828356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rakhi-shopping" source="keywords">Rakhi shopping</keyword>, and people are very enthusiastic about the festival. It urged customers to celebrate the festival with Indian goods. Observing the demands for <keyword id="22830197" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indigenous-Rakhis" source="keywords">indigenous Rakhis</keyword>, the trade body stated that customers prefer indigenous Rakhis over <keyword id="22828357" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-Rakhis" source="keywords">Chinese Rakhis</keyword> during this year's festive season. "For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market," the CAIT said in a note. Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT's National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk stated that the business during the Rakhi festival will reach Rs 12,000 crore, compared to last year's trade of approximately Rs 10,000 crore. In 2022, the business was around Rs 7,000 crore, in 2021 it was Rs 6,000 crore, in 2020 it was Rs 5,000 crore, in 2019 it was Rs 3,500 crore, and in 2018 it was Rs 3,000 crore, as per Khandelwal. Khandelwal and CAIT's National President, B.C. Bhartia, mentioned that this year, a special feature of the Rakhis is that special types of Rakhis have been made from famous products of various cities across the country. According to the CAIT representatives, the customers are also demanding Khadi Rakhi made in Nagpur, Sanganeri Art Rakhi from Jaipur, Seed Rakhi from Pune, Woolen Rakhi from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Bamboo Rakhi made from tribal items, Tea Leaf Rakhi from Assam, Jute Rakhi from Kolkata, Silk Rakhi from Mumbai, Date Rakhi from Kerala, Pearl Rakhi from Kanpur, Madhuband Maithili Art Rakhi from Bihar, Soft Stone Rakhi from Pondicherry, Flower Rakhi from Bangalore, and more. There is also high demand for Rakhis that display national pride, such as Tricolor Rakhi, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Rakhi, Bharat Mata Rakhi, as per the CAIT representatives. They added that the designer Rakhis and silver Rakhis are also selling well in the market. The CAIT representatives expected festive sales of over 4 lakh crore due to the extended period of the festival this year which will be celebrated from August 19 to November 15 on the day of Tulsi Vivah. "This year's festive series will begin with <keyword id="6385850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="raksha-bandhan" source="Orion">Raksha Bandhan</keyword> and continue through Janmashtami, the 10-day Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, and other festivals, culminating with Tulsi Vivah. During this festive period, the business community across the country is fully prepared to meet consumer demands, and traders have stocked up adequately on all products," CAIT added.

Rakhi festive sales expected to surge over Rs 12,000 crore across country: Confederation of All India Traders

<ul><li>The 26-year old is a trained doctor by profession and actor by choice. </li><li><keyword id="2761252" type="General" weightage="90" keywordseo="trinetra" source="Orion">Trinetra</keyword> underwent a gender affirming surgery in the midst of her MBBS.</li><li>The journey through school and college was not easy either, especially since the bullying wasn't coming from fellow students alone. </li></ul> The second coming of <keyword id="36968" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zoya-akhtar" source="Orion">Zoya Akhtar</keyword> and <keyword id="125922" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reema-kagti" source="Orion">Reema Kagti</keyword>’s <keyword id="5690475" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="made-in-heaven" source="Orion">Made in Heaven</keyword> swerves from profane to the profound in a matter of seconds. While the lines – “Sometimes heaven does not ordain a companion for us. Some of us are meant to travel alone…” – may not be intended for <keyword id="7507179" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trinetra-Haldar-Gummaraju" source="Orion">Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju</keyword>, who essays the role of a trans <keyword id="205921" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="wedding-planner" source="Orion">wedding planner</keyword> in the upcoming web series, they most certainly fit the bill. Trinetra, a trans actress, says she is alone but not lonely. Delve a little deeper into the life of this 26-year old queer woman and you see she’s a work in progress. A trained doctor by profession and actor by choice, 26-year old Trinetra underwent a gender affirming surgery in the midst of her MBBS and since then has been creating content on her social media channels for the queer community. While her journey has been eventful, no doubt, it has been a lonely one. At an age when most children are busy with toys, Trinetra was coming to terms with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. By definition, gender dysphoria is nothing but a sense of unease a person experiences when their biological sex and their gender identity are not in sync. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity does not match with the sex assigned at birth. While there is a term to explain queer people today in medical parlance, but for the society at large, society continues to view them differently and often makes them the butt of jokes. Opening up to Business Insider in a no-holds-barred interview, Trinetra says: “I was the first born male child but I was never one of the boys. All the things that little boys are expected to do like sport and everything we associate traditionally with being masculine was not coming to me naturally at all. My father tried to masculinise me in as many ways as possible, which every Indian father would do. It took me many years to come to terms with the fact that I am not a boy and I don’t want to adopt that identity.” The journey through school and college was not easy either, especially since the bullying wasn't coming from fellow students alone. Her queerness earned her no brownie points with her teachers and professors either. It took her many years to come to terms with the fact that she was not a boy and neither did she want to adopt that identity. It came with a lot of bullying and ragging in college and rejection from teachers and professors, she says. And no, there is no recourse to bullying and ragging even today. She explains: “A child feels powerless in such situations. People in positions of power are role models.” So bitter is her experience as a trans woman that she does not even like mentioning the name she was born with – a name her parents chose for her at birth. As she explains, asking a trans person their name before their transition is disrespectful because it brings back memories of a traumatic past. She says the name a trans person is assigned at birth is a “deadname” and is typically associated with trauma and rejection. A similar incident was seen with Hollywood actor, Elliot Page, of Juno and Inception fame. The actor, who was assigned female at birth, and later publicly came out as a trans man, was trolled after coming out and spoke extensively about it. She is very vocal about her transness or queerness on her social media channels. She gives blow by blow details of her gender affirming surgery and how painful it was for her. The content she creates is both bold and perhaps designed to shock those with a weak stomach. She gives graphic details about the pain she experienced for months after the surgery. For someone as vocal as Trinetra is, she refuses to say a word about how her personal life has changed after her surgery. Call it the Bollywood effect, if you please. Ask her how her life has changed and she talks at length about the clothes that she can now wear freely and easily that she earlier could not. The joy of wearing a traditional red and white saree is evident in a 2018 video where she is offering sweets to Goddess Durga at a Puja Pandal in Kolkata. On how it is for a queer person to find a date, she says while she is on the dating scene and that she has had both good and bad experiences, she is happily single. “For the first time in my life I have a real sense of self worth after everything has been achieved. I do not think anything in my life is lacking because I have been able to give myself a lot more than any man has been able to…So I feel content and at peace by myself.” Gender affirming surgery may solve one part of the equation for transgender people, but it does not make it easy. Dating for transgender women is not particularly easy because transphobia shows up in the dating game as well. Typically, the dating pool will have heterosexual men and they are not open to the LGBTQ+ ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more) community as much. So the pool of available men for trans women continues to be other queer men. “It can be quite a task to navigate that and to have someone find out and reject you… or to come out to someone and they react with aggression and violence,” says Trinetra. Often, men would not be willing to take trans partners home and that can lead to a string of casual relationships. What is most sad is when Trinetra says that trans women are not only seen as inferior and that they are okay with the bare minimum. Indian society tends to beat it out of you, she says. For the longest time, even she was fine with people who saw her as a woman. It is no longer the case. She believes that she has achieved way too much to be reduced to someone’s attraction towards her. Every trans person reading this should believe that they are inherently enough and beautiful. “I am not seeking anything external. I am very content on my own. If someone’s energy matches mine then it is great.” There is too much emphasis on romantic connections, says this 26 year old.

The other wedding planner of Made in Heaven

<ul><li><keyword id="6123753" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-crackers" source="Orion">Green crackers</keyword> claim to have no pollutants like barium nitrate, lithium, aluminum, sulfur and potassium nitrate. </li><li>Delhi has imposed a complete ban on crackers, including green crackers. </li><li>Green crackers with fake QR codes, putting the initiative under scrutiny.</li></ul>With Diwali less than two days away, Indians are gearing up for the festival of lights, some wanting to be eco-friendly by using green crackers. The <keyword id="6354977" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="Orion">Supreme court</keyword> of India banned the traditional crackers containing pollution causing barium nitrate back in 2018, promoting the use of green crackers instead. Claiming to be eco-friendly, these green crackers are also more expensive than traditional crackers. “This year we have only 70% of stock as compared to last year because the majority of big cracker brands have supplied less crackers owing to their transition to green crackers. Green crackers use nitrate as compared to other crackers which use barium salts. Nitrates are in short supply so the overall cracker industry is hit, making the limited supply costly,” said Praveen Kumar T from Crackers <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/cracker-of-a-diwali-prices-are-dampener/articleshow/94928223.cms">Mela</a>. In September<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/delhi-dpcc-notifies-total-ban-on-all-types-of-crackers-till-january-1/articleshow/94279411.cms"> this year</a>, the <keyword id="111875" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="delhi-pollution-control-committee" source="Orion">Delhi Pollution Control Committee</keyword> announced a complete ban on bursting crackers – including green crackers – till January 2023. This is being legally contested by green crackers manufacturers in <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/firecrackers-ban-in-delhi-diwali-supreme-court-refuses-urgent-listing-211524">Delhi</a>. Assam, <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, Rajasthan have allowed the use of green crackers while West Bengal used green crackers during Durga Puja <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/west-bengal-to-allow-only-green-crackers-during-kali-puja-minister/articleshow/94842651.cms">festivities</a>. Punjab has approved bursting of green crackers for two hours on Diwali. However, the present chemical substances on supposedly green cracker packets have made green crackers an oxymoron for the ₹3,000 crore cracker industry in<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/indias-fireworks-capital-losing-its-sparkle/article65210796.ece"> India</a>. Are green crackers in reality, green? Need for green crackers in India In May 2019, the Supreme Court approved the use of green crackers to control <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/what-are-eco-friendly-crackers-and-how-are-they-made/articleshow/71734172.cms">pollution</a>. Green crackers are certified by CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. During the pandemic last year, the Supreme Court had reinforced its ban on crackers for cities with poor air quality index (AQI). The air quality was more harmful for older citizens and people who have recently recovered from Covid-19. This is especially true for the national capital, where paddy burning from Punjab has made the air thicker and more difficult to breathe. In an interview with <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/people-who-recovered-from-covid-19-should-stay-indoors-on-diwali-doctors/articleshow/87471054.cms">TOI</a>, Dr Mukul Kumar Singh, an epidemiologist at Nalanda Medical College Patna said, “People should avoid fireworks during Diwali, especially those who have asthma, citizens above 60 years of age, small kids or who have recovered from severe symptoms of Covid-19.” Delhi-NCR is already the most polluted region in north India, according to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/summer-of-2022-delhi-ncr-most-polluted-in-north-india/articleshow/93763273.cms">report</a> by Center for Science and Environment (CSE) released in May this year. The eco-friendly alternatives during Diwali are green crackers but there are claims dismissing their authenticity. Are green crackers actually green? The promises of green crackers are many- no chemical substances like potassium nitrate, barium nitrate, sulphur, lithium and aluminum, release of water vapor instead for reduction of particulate matter and 30% less emissions. Only <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/only-two-types-of-green-crackers-available-in-delhi-this-diwali/story-u68bUxPtbizLvuMpRFGiHO.html">30</a> government registered manufacturers can sell green crackers in India. Over 2,311 kg of firecrackers were seized ahead of Diwali in Delhi. Upon inspection, not 1 kg was found to be ‘<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2022/oct/21/et-edit/bursting-crackers-causes-suffering/articleshow/94997462.cms">green</a>’. The only way to vaguely test if these crackers are authentic is to check for CSIR-NEERI stamps or QR codes. Another way is to look at the packaging and see if they list chemical ingredients. To analyse the efficacy of these “green” crackers, <keyword id="6398708" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="awaaz-foundation" source="Orion">Awaaz Foundation</keyword> with Maharashtra Pollution Control Board bought a bunch of green crackers ahead of Diwali in Mumbai last year, testing the noise and emission reality of them at RFC ground in <a href="https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-ngo-awaaz-foundation-sees-red-over-green-crackers">Chembur</a>. "Few have QR codes alongside the <keyword id="64925" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="csir" source="Orion">CSIR</keyword> NEERI stamp of green crackers but QR codes are not registered to NEERI and are fake. Even banned chemical ‘barium nitrate’ is openly listed on boxes of some packets claimed to be green crackers,” said <keyword id="258939" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sumaira-abdulali" source="Orion">Sumaira Abdulali</keyword>, convenor of Awaaz Foundation in a <a href="https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-ngo-awaaz-foundation-sees-red-over-green-crackers">report</a>. In another <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/489144978/letter-to-aditya-thackeray-firecrackers-december-2020?secret_password=hebbRjGfwaOV57kNgV1k#fullscreen&amp;from_embed">letter</a> dated December 2020, addressed to former environment minister for Maharashtra Aaditya Thackarey, Abdulali wrote, “We found that even the 12 varieties of ‘green crackers’ contained toxic chemicals including the banned barium nitrate, other nitrates and sulfates.” There are other green cracker alternatives by companies like Bombay Greens and Plantable Patakha that turn the cracker paper into a plant but the cost begins from ₹500. The usage of green crackers can thus just be green in colour not in spirit. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/diwali-is-becoming-a-global-celebration-and-cementing-indian-identity-globally/articleshow/95014696.cms">Diwali is becoming a global celebration and cementing Indian identity globally</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/diwali-festive-sales-likely-to-witness-growth-of-60k-crore-rupees-over-2019/articleshow/95023679.cms">'Diwali festive sales likely to witness growth of ₹60K crore rupees over 2019'</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ril-shareholders-to-get-shares-on-11-basis-in-soon-to-be-listed-jfsl/articleshow/95023780.cms">RIL shareholders to get shares on 1:1 basis in soon to be listed JFSL</a>

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See how artists blend faith with India's moon mission, obsession with gold, and much more during one of India's biggest religious festivals

BI India Bureau

Rakhi festive sales expected to surge over Rs 12,000 crore across country: Confederation of All India Traders

ANI

The other wedding planner of Made in Heaven

Malini Bhupta

How green are green crackers?

Eetika Kapoor

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