From the archive record
Bengali women play the vermillion game called Sindoor Khela with each other on the last day of Durga Puja. Women smear vermilion on each other during 'Sindoor Khela' on Vijayadashmi. On the day of Vijaya Dashami, every Bengali-Hindu married woman prepares a few things on her puja thali: betel leaves or paan (to signify the auspiciousness of the occasion), sondesh or any other appropriate sweet, and sindoor. The thali is basically what she needs to do the Devi Boron, or the final goodbye to the suhaagan Durga. The sindoor is touched at the feet of the devi's idol, and her forehead. The betel leaves are offered to her for the puja, and the sondesh is placed at the idol's mouth. Some women also gift vermillion-coloured sarees and dupattas as another marker of married life. Once the Devi Boron