Hooghly, July 19 -- Rose petals cascaded from a helicopter onto the revered Taraknath Temple and thousands of devotees below as chants of "Har Har Mahadev" echoed through the temple town, heralding the beginning of the centuries-old Shravani Mela at Tarakeswar on the first day of the Bengali month of Shravan.
The aerial floral tribute, carried out despite intermittent rain, transformed the opening day of Bengal's largest Shiva pilgrimage into a memorable spectacle, with pilgrims calling it a historic first in the shrine's long history.
Many devotees folded their hands in prayer as the helicopter circled above the temple complex, showering petals on the sanctum and the surrounding premises.
"For the first time, Baba Taraknath has received...