On a wooden dock beside
the slow moving, silt laden waters of the
Ganges, a priest lights
a candle, a stick of incense and rings a small brightly polished
bell. He reads from scripture, and the the tree
is prepared for its short journey.
As the dawn brightens into day, the priest leads a procession from
the riverside past train yards, factories and shops, carrying
the shrouded tree on his shoulder, accompanied close behind
by a band of drummers and trumpeters.
The priest will lead this procession to one of the many pandals
constructed across Calcutta for the Durga Puja.
Once inside, he
will install the tree on the dias at the right side of Sri Ganesh.