varanasi amidst sounds of sacred vedic mantras glittering fire crackers and millions of diyas earthen lamps the ancient ghats of the city came alive on dev deepawali on thursday the festival is celebrated on kartik purnima almost all ghats of the ganga from varuna to asi confluence were decorated and had there individual celebrations of dev deepawali the fest is celebrated to mark the arrival of gods and goddess on earth the glittering tribute to martys at the replica of amar jawan jyoti with series of cultural programmes at dasaswamedh ghat organised by ganga sewa nidhi attracted scores of devotees locals and tourists as per the ritual the programme started with offering prayers to lord ganesha by presenting ganpati vandana followed by wreath laying and giving last post to the freedom fighters and martyrs by the officers indian army navy air force police force and central reserve police force crpf at the replica of amar jawan jyoti india gate the patriotic backdrop became more lively as the patriotic songs were sung after paying tributes to the martyrs the rituals of the ganga pujan and deep daan were performed by a group of 21 brahmins and 41 girls amidst vedic mantras the maha aarati at dasaswamedh ghat was the main attraction of the day the serene river in front and colourful offering at the other side of the ganga projected a spectacular scenario in the series of programmes lakshman thakuri of the indian army who sacrificed his life on february 08 2010 was feliciated with postthumous bhagirath shourya samman and padma shree bindeshwar pathak was feliciated with bhagirath alankaran for his contribution in social work reputed artistes and performers made the celebration more eventful with series of cultural programmes vocal artistes delighted the crowd with their enthralling performance several dance performances were also held under the event nritya ganga the fourday ganga mahotsav organised by uttar pradesh tourism department at the adjoining rajendra prasad ghat which concluded on wednesday also showcased the rich cultural heritage around this period there was a sea of people including foreigners in large number along the riverfront to watch the festival of light various other ghats also organised their own ceremony asi ghat presented the traditional art of patha banebi while the suparshvanath ghat was decorated on theme of anna hazares effort to eradicate corruption the panchganga ghat which is the considered the confluence of five river witnessed the lighting of hazara lamp by the representatives of the royal family of kashi similarly the celebration at kedar ghat ahilya bai ghat man mandir ghat were equally delightful the celebration of the dev deepawali at boondiper kota ghat by an organisation called samarpan was dedicated to veteran voalist bhupen hazarika apart from floral rangolis and 21000 earthen lamps that decorated the ghat a 12ft idol of goddess ganga which was tied with chains of corruption was the centre of attraction at this ghat thousands of people thronged at asi ghat to board at boat and enjoy the