Here is why we celebrate Navratri and how we celebrate it across the country in different regions.
Goddess Durga and her various incarnations are worshipped during Navratri as symbols of strength, motherhood, mercy, knowledge, fierceness, happiness, courage, and compassion. With great excitement and enjoyment, the festival is celebrated in various ways all over the country, with each state celebrating in their own unique style the nine sacred nights!
Let’s have a peek at how Navratri is celebrated around the country:
Navratri Celebrations in Northern India:
In the northern states of India, Ramlila, the depiction of Rama from the Ramayana, is enacted in various states with people maintaining fasts. Effigies of the ten-headed Ravana, Kumbhakarna (brother of Ravan), and Meghnad (son of Ravan) are burnt, signifying good over evil on the tenth day. The day is known as ‘VijayaDashmi’ or ‘Dussehra.’
Navratri Celebrations in Southern India:
In south India, Navratri is a time to gather friends, family, and neighbours to view the Kolu, which is essentially an exhibition of different dolls and miniatures. This exhibition is known as Bombe Habba in Kannada, Bommai Kolu in Tamil, Bomma Gullu in Malayalam, and Bommala Koluvu in Telugu.
In Karnataka, Navratri is known as Dasara. During the nine nights of Navratri, a night-long dance in the shape of epic dramas from Puranas is performed. The Mysore Dasara is celebrated with tremendous fanfare and a dramatic display symbolizing the success of good over evil. It is celebrated as a state celebration led by Mysore’s royal family and their huge savari.
Navratri Celebrations in Western India:
In West India, particularly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, women observe fast throughout the day to worship Goddess Shakti. Homes are redecorated and prayers are offered in temples.
Garba and Dandiya-Raas, the communal dances are observed. ‘Garba’ or ‘Garbha’ means womb, and the lamp in the pot represents life within a womb in this context.
Gujarat is most recognized for Garba, a traditional dance in which people dress up in traditional outfits form circles and dance in coordinated movements using bamboo sticks called dandiya. The evening is dedicated to dancing on the sounds of popular traditional Gujarati music. The circles sometimes reach hundreds of people, making it quite a spectacle.
Navratri Celebrations in Eastern India:
Durga Puja is celebrated in Eastern India, mostly in West Bengal and the North Eastern states, during the last days of Navratri. Huge idols of the Goddess Durga riding on a lion (the lion represents the Dharma and weapons symbolise the concentrated severity required to eliminate the negativity in our thoughts) are carried home or to community pandals (tents) to be worshipped. The idol is carried out in a procession to be submerged in water on the final day.
Kolkata is well-known for its Durga Puja celebrations, during which women dress in white and red and cities are decorated with lights. People celebrate the festival’s beginning from Mahalaya to Bijoya Dashami, when the idols are immersed in water and the wait for the new year starts.
Happy Navratri to all!!
