Dhaka, Oct. 1 -- As the Durga Puja festival enters its ninth day, a tinge of sorrow filled the air as devotees prepare to bid farewell to the goddess.

Undeterred by the rain on Wednesday, worshippers thronged temples and pavilions across the country to take part in the Sandhi Puja rituals marking Maha Nabami, the penultimate day of the biggest festival for Bengali Hindus.

The Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka reverberated with the sounds of drums, conch shells and brass cymbals, while more than 33,000 pavilions across Bangladesh joined in the festivities.

Dharmadash Chatterjee, the head priest at Dhakeshwari, said: "On Nabami, the worship reaches completion and the tune of parting begins. On Dashami, we bid the goddess adieu."

The ...