Navi Mumbai: Navi Mumbai’s Odia and Bengali communities celebrated Kumar Purnima and Kojagari Lakshmi Puja on October 25, bringing families together for traditional rituals, devotional music and cultural performances.

In Kharghar, more than 50 Odia families gathered at Hyde Park Club House and Hyde Park Ground to celebrate Kumar Purnima, an important autumn festival of Odisha associated with Sharad Purnima.

The programme began with Tulsi Pujan, followed by prayers to the Moon by unmarried girls. More than 30 girls and their mothers danced to the traditional Odia song “Kumar Punei Janha Go”. Young performers presented Odissi and folk dances, while Sanghamitra Prusty of the Bombay Odia Welfare Association and Subrat Khuntia performed Jagannath bhajans and folk songs.

Organised under the leadership of Odissi dancer Bishnupriya Panda, the event received support from the SuryaKhetra Foundation and Educational Trust, which sponsored prizes for participants.

Meanwhile, Bengali households observed Kojagari Lakshmi Puja with rice-paste rangoli, lamps, kheer and coconut laddus. Devotees offered prayers and pushpanjali to Goddess Lakshmi at the Navi Mumbai Bengali Association premises.

According to tradition, Goddess Lakshmi visits homes on Sharad Purnima, asking “Ko Jagorati?” or “Who is awake?” Devotees believe those who remain awake receive her blessings. The full-moon night is also associated with Lord Krishna’s Raas Leela with Radha and the gopis.

At the Haveli temple in Vashi, devotees queued for darshan of Lord Govardhan Nathaji, dressed in white on a moon-like altar. Mirrors offered a special ‘darpan view’ of the deity.

“During Kojagari, we offer prayers to the moon to receive the elixir of life from its light,” a devotee said.