Navratri preparations light up city homes, markets

Nagpur: The arrival of the nine-day festival of celebrating the power of Goddess Durga, Navratri, from September 29 to October 7, has brought new vigour in homes as well the markets. The city is already draped in celebratory atmosphere, with citizens seen shopping and decorating pandals and households to welcome the Goddess for the Navratri puja.
There are four seasonal navratris. However, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navratri that sees the biggest celebration, in honour of the divine feminine Devi (Durga).
Navratri is celebrated every autumn, with different communities from various parts of India observing it for different reasons, and in different manner. However, what is common is the beautifully decorated household with toran (garland of flowers and leaves), the fragrance of delicious feasts and bhog for the goddess, women dressed in colourful saris, and rangolis in the front yard to herald the festivities.
The festival is celebrated in the bright half of the Hindu calendar month Ashwin, which typically falls in the months of September and October. It is believed that Goddess Durga battled and emerged victorious over the buffalo demon to help restore dharma. Different communities have different customs to welcome Goddess Durga in their homes.
“Navratri is an important festival for the Maharashtrians. We commence our day by taking a bath, and install a ghat, also called as ghat-sthapna. We worship a small idol of Goddess Durga and a lamp is kept burning for all nine days. I also undertake nine days of strict fasting, and the traditional aarti is performed every morning and evening,” said Anil Palkar.
The Bengali community in the city starts its Durga Pujo celebrations from the sixth day of Navratri. The Bengalis gather in community halls and mandals for the celebrations.
“We offer a grand feast on the day of Shashti. The pujo includes worshipping the power and avatar of Goddess Durga. We indulge in traditional dances and folk music in the traditional Bengali way,” said Amruta Guha.
The Gujaratis celebrate the festival with garba nights, dancing around the idol with various cultural programmes, maha-aarti and huge celebrations at the Durga pandals. “We are installing a 6ft idol at our Durga mandal. A beautiful 50ft high temple replica is being made for the idol. We have planned various events and garba nights for nine days,” said Praveen Mudliyar, organizer at the Salba Shakti Samaj Ground.
The tenth day of the festival is observed as Dussehra, when the idols are either immersed in a water body, such as river, lake or ocean, or some idols are burned with fireworks to mark the destruction of evil.
The festival also signals the beginning of preparations for one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals, Diwali, the festival of lights. This is celebrated 20 days after Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra.