Navratri is a beautiful festival in India, celebrated for nine nights, symbolizing the triumph of Goddess Durga over the evil Mahishasura. Navratri is a time of cultural significance, auspiciousness, and divinity, offering your prayers to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars. It is a time of cleaning and home decor, fasting, preparing Navratri dishes, and chanting mantras to welcome Goddess Durga. Navratri is very special because it is a very vibrant festival celebrated in different corners of India in different ways.
It is interesting to learn how these nine days are revered by millions of people in India for their deep devotion and belief! The form of prayer and celebration may be different, however one can see the same amount of zeal and enthusiasm everywhere! So, let’s delve into Navratri celebrations in India in different parts of India and learn about the local traditions with respect to their rituals, home decor, food and festivity!
Different Ways of Navratri Celebrations in India
1. Navratri Celebrations in North India
In the north Indian states such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, Navratri is celebrated with great pomp and show, marking the triumph of Lord Rama over the evil Ravana. One can find Ram Leela acts at various places in these cities. These acts are very engaging and entertaining too, reliving the essence of Ramayana! Often, small girls are worshipped by inviting them to homes and serving them delicious ‘halwa poori’ along with some gift items - popularly known as ‘Kanya pooja’. Temples and other religious places are decked up with stunning lamps & lights and flower decor! Some people do fasting for nine days, refraining from consuming alcohol, non-vegetarian food and even onions and garlic. Only satvik food is consumed during these nine spiritual days such as fruits, milk, sabudana khichdi, kuttu ki roti to name a few. This is done to purify one’s body as well as soul from within!
People wear ethnic and vibrant clothes and jewelry and dance to the tunes of traditional music. Forts in Rajasthan are popular for celebrating Navratri by performing Sheetla Mata pooja.
In some customs, barley seeds (jawn) are sowed in big earthen pots for nine days, worshipping Goddess Durga, known as ‘Khetri beejna’. It is believed, that the taller the leaves of the barley seeds grow in these nine days, the more positive vibes enter the house, considered as a blessing of Goddess Durga! These days are even considered very auspicious to start a new venture, as new beginnings are awaited during these divine nine days of Navratri.
2. Navratri Celebrations in Gujarat and Maharashtra
Whenever we think of Navratri and the state of Gujarat, inevitably, the playful dandiya and garba come to our mind! Yes, the colorful cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mumbai are famous for their nine-day dandiya and garba dance at various places. People gather in huge numbers, wearing their best ethnic and colorful attires, all excited and cheerful to play garba (with hands) and dandiya (with traditional bamboo sticks) on traditional musical rhythms and enjoy Navratri delicacies. They also decorate their spaces with boho decoration items like macrame hangings.
3. West Bengal Navratri Pooja
In West Bengal, particularly in the city of Kolkata one can find massive pandals where Kali Maa is revered with opulence. Huge idols of goddess Durga are installed in these pandals and people flock in with great religious sentiments to worship, creating a divine aura all around. Durga puja is one of the most divine festivals of Bengal, marking new beginnings and auspiciousness. One can feel the festive vibe in every corner of the city with a spectrum of cultural and religious programs conducted with great fervor and vigor.
Every evening, a maha aarti is performed, accompanied by drum beats, men and women dancing in Bengali attire such as dhoti kurta and Bengali saree respectively.
4. Navratri Celebrations in Karnataka
Whenever we think about Dussehra (the 10th day after the Navratri), we inevitably think about the world-famous Mysore Dussehra! Though Dussehra is celebrated all over India with great enthusiasm, it is in Mysore, one can find an unimaginably large gathering of people on Dussehra, organized by the royal family of the Mysore palace, every year accompanied by elephants, camels, horses and dancers. Mysore palace is beautifully illuminated along with other significant buildings, marking the triumph of good over evil. The traditional Dussehra procession (also known as jumbo Sawari) is carried out, in which the idol of Chamundeshwari is kept on a golden mandapa, finally placed on an elephant, starting from the Mysore palace, and ending at Bannimantap.
5. South Indian Navratri Celebrations
Southern states of India such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have their own unique ways of celebrating Navratri. Many people in southern states keep ‘Gollu’ at their homes. ‘Gollu’ is a spectacular display of several beautiful god idols, figurines, and dolls decorated at various elevated steps with immense creativity and embellishment. People invite friends and relatives to visit their Gollu also known as Kolu. Several southern Indian delicacies are prepared including vadapappu, payasam, and chalimidi to mark the festivity.
In Kerala on the 10th day, that is Vijaya Dashmi, ‘Vidyarambham’ is celebrated where children are encouraged to begin their learning. In Tamil Nadu, on the 9th day, Ayudha (weapon) Puja is performed where all tools, weapons and machinery parts are worshipped for the growth and property of one’s business ventures and workplace, worshipping Goddess Saraswati.
To Summarise
To summarise, undoubtedly, Navratri is one of the biggest festivals of India. How lovely it is to see various forms of this celebration in different parts of the country. The rituals and customs may be different but one thing that binds the entire India is the faith, fervour and festivity of Navratri.
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