Residents of Varanasi celebrated the owl festival by honouring the nocturnal bird, which is considered to be the favourite vehicle of the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity Lakshmi.
They participated in a procession and thoroughly enjoyed the poets' meet organised as a part of the annual event.
Devotees traditionally worship owls because of their association with the goddess of prosperity.
This year, poets took satirical potshots at the political scenario in the country.
Rachna Tiwari, a poet, said the poets' meet reflected the state of society.
"This owl festival is celebrated through humorous poems and there are poems of other genre, too. Through these poems, we attack the shortcomings of our society and try to highlight various aspects about the government, corruption and politicians," Tiwari said.
Rajendra Dwivedi, a member of the organising committee, said,"At midnight, a live owl will be released into the sky. Thousands of people in Kashi wait for this festival and it is for this that we are having this Owl procession. This will be followed by a national level poets' meet."
The festival is a continuation of the celebrations of the Diwali festival.
However, the owl festival is objected to by wildlife conservationists who feel that such practices promote hunting and the selling of this nocturnal bird.
