The little Goddess

This is Belur Math - a holy Hindu shrine that has stood for more than 100 years now. The serenity and the spirituality of this place is impeccable. On the 3rd day of the Durga Puja, at this shrine, they worship the girl child. They actually select a young girl - 9 years old or younger and make her play the Goddess on this day. She is actually worhiped by the temple priests and thousands of people come and witness the event. This ritual is immensely popular and deeply regarded by the Bengalis. The young girl is selected after skimming through numerous applications, following which, she is trained for a month or so. Being the child Goddess is quite an achievement. THe shine has been practicing this ritual since 1902. The idea is to worship the most primite form of power - the woman power.

for those who are interested, some information and philosophy is available on google.