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Young girls yet to attain puberty are dressed up as living goddesses before being worshipped as “kumari” or virgin during the Bengali Hindu festival of Basanti Durga puja performed in the spring in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 15, 2016. Worshipping kumaris or virgins on the ninth day or navami of the festival is an important ritual when they are worshipped as the base power of all creation. The more popular form of Durga festival is performed in autumn when the Hindu mythical figure Rama is said to have called upon goddess Durga to seek her blessings to defeat the evil character Ravana. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)
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