The Different Ways Navratri Is Celebrated In India

Navratri, which means nine nights, is celebrated all over India with lights, sweets and merriment. Each part of India celebrates this Hindu festival in different ways. The commonality being each part worships the goddess Durga by doing puja’s and making offerings to the goddess to remove evil or negative energies in their life. Here is a look at how thevariousstatesin India celebrate this popular festival during the month of September or October.

Navratri Across India

Gujarat – The most well-known aspect of Navratri is probably the dandiya dance, which is famous in Gujarat during this festival. After evening aarti, men women and children join together in the traditional dances to celebrate in colorful costumes with dhol music in accompaniment.

Tamil Nadu – This traditional southern state celebrates this holiday in a different manner. Navratri here is divided equally amongst the goddess Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Women get together in each other’s house and share small gifts such as bangles, bindi and other ornaments. But the most beautiful and famous part of the festival in this region is the "Golu", which is an arrangement of gods and goddesses and other ornaments, passed down from one generation to the next, placed on nine stairs. This makeshift staircase represents each day of the festival.

Andhra Pradesh –The people of this region celebrate Bathukamma Panduga, during the nine days of the festival of Navratri. They celebrate the goddess Gauri, who represents womanhood. Each day the women of this region make beautiful flower arrangements[Flower Arrangement Classes in pune] in a stack and perform puja’s. On the last day, the flower stack is taken to the sea or body of water and set afloat.

Kerala –This state only celebrates the last three days of the festival and devotes the days to Saraswati, the goddess of education. This state with the highest literacy rate, places books musical instruments and anything else that initiates learning and perform a puja to the goddess to grant them wisdom and knowledge.

Maharashtra –Navratri for the Maharashtrians means new beginnings and so many believe that is an auspicious time to start a business or buy a home/car etc. Married women are invited to each other’s homes to apply haldi and kumkum to their foreheads. The nights are then celebrated similar to the Gujarat’s, with Dandiya dances.

Himachal Pradesh –As the rest of the country’s celebrations start to dwindle down, this state starts gearing up for the festivities. Here they celebrate KulluDusshera, on the tenth day marking the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. Friends and family meet to pay their respects to Lord Rama and at night the deities from the temples are taken out in procession through the city.

Punjab –This state celebrates the festival in a unique way, where most of the people of this region fast for the first seven days, honoring Maa Shakti. The nights are spent singing songs to keep themselves awake. The fast is finally broken on the eighth day by inviting nine girls (representations of Maa Shakti) and gifting them with money, food etc.

Anu a modern “traditional” Tamilian, brought up in Canada, now resides in Pune, India, with her husband. She draws upon her life experiences, when writing, having been exposed to the lifestyle and cultures of both countries. She is simple, fun-lo