Navratri Celebration In India

The night festivities of Navratri vary in different parts of the country. It is celebrated in different ways in different parts of the country. The most famous and colorful festivities are the Dandiya and Garba dances of the western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

In the eastern states too, this is a time for music and dance. Groups and residents' associations in towns and cities erect beautiful marquees, where they install the idol of the Mother Goddess.

In Kolkata, and other places there are competitions held and the most beautiful and creatively done mandvi gets a prize. For all the nine days, the pavilion becomes the center of all activity where cultural events and competitions are organized every day.

In Punjab, people organize jagrans to sing devotional songs all night in praise of the Mother Goddess. Another part of the Navratri celebrations is the Ramlila quite popular in places like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh where almost every locality has its own group of actors re-enacting episodes from the life of Lord Rama. This stems from the belief that Rama killed Ravana on the tenth day of Ashvin or Navratri called the Vijaya Dashami.

In Bengal, Navaratri is celebrated in a grand and lavish manner as Durga Puja as huge idols of the goddess Durga posed as killing the demon Mahishasura are worshipped in almost every street. Huge 'pandals' (tents) are set up. Skilled artists prepare idols painstakingly for community and family worship. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa is full of a frenzy as people offer a number of 'saris', flowers, fruits and 'jewelry' to the Goddess. There are music and dance performances everywhere as people buy new clothes, jewellery and sweets. There are grand processions on the tenth day as idols are taken with pomp and show for immersion in rivers, lakes or seas.

In Gujarat, painted earthen pots are used to represent the Mother Goodess called 'ghata', which is revered as the abode of the goddess. Devotional Garba dances are performed by the Gujarati women around 'ghata' in circles clapping their hands or decorated sticks to the rhythm of the music of energetic traditional songs. After worshipping and 'Aarti', 'Dandiya raas' is performed in colordul traditional attire of Gujarat as a community dance all through the night. Navratris are considered auspicious for buying jewellery and gold.

In Maharashtra, nine days of Navratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga while the tenth day or Vijayadashami is dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning. On this day, school-going children worship the tantrik symbol of the goddess for her blessing in their studies and it is considered auspicious day to begin education and learn dance and music, buy new homes, performing housewarmings and weddings and start new ventures.

In Mysore, Chamundi, the royal deity of the Mysore royalty is worshipped durng Navratri with pomp and pageantry. There is a magnificent procession of elephants, horses, chariots and costumed attendants on the tenth day, when Maharaja goes to worship the hilltop temple of the goddess.

In Andhra Pradesh , Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka too, dolls called Bommai Kolu are placed and decorated with flowers and ornaments. Goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati are worshipped for three days each. Gifts of coconuts, clothes and sweets are exchanged. . Nine young 'kanyas' or virgins are offered new clothes and sweets as the goddesses and married women share flowers, kumkum and snacks among themselves.

Another part of the Navratri celebrations is the Ramlila. In places like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, almost every locality has its own group of actors re-enacting episodes from the life of Lord Rama. This is probably because, the day after Navratri, i.e. on the tenth day of Ashvin called the Vijaya Dashami, it is said that Lord Rama killed Ravana and other demons to rid the earth of evil.

The Hindu minorities of Kashmiri Pandits celebrate Navratri in a subdued manner as all the adult members of the household fast for nine days on water. One important ritual involves a trip to the temple of guardian goddess Kheer Bhawani in the middle of a Sarovar (lake) on all nine days. It is said that deity warns her devotees of a catastrophe by turning the water of the lake black. It is said that water turned black on a day before Indira Gandhi's assassination and before the last war of India and Pakistan. Here, dance and music is shunned as these nine days are supposed to be spent in the contemplation of Goddess here.