Nine most auspicious days of Hindu mythology are just knocking the doors.
Yes! Navratri has just arrived. These nine days of joy, prayers, prosperity will commence from October 1st to October 10th.
Navaratri is dedicated to the worship the Hindu deity Goddess Durga. During these nine nights, nine forms of Devi are worshipped.
So how to celebrate these nine days where to go, what to eat these questions must have tickled you every year. But this time, NewsMobile has come up with some options to look out for this Navratri:
Northern customs
If you are in the national capital, you witness decorated temples in every street with LEDs, flowers and many new items.
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Religious music and recital of the Ramayana fill the atmosphere with joy. Ram Leela is the main cultural event, takes place every evening of these nine days in different parts of the city. On the 10th day the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad makes the festival of Vijay Dashami or Dussehra to define the victory of goodness over cruelty.
Bengali customs
Among the Bengalis, it’s Durga Puja which celebrated in a full swing in the last six days of Navratri.
Marked by prayers, lights, colours, dance, music, food and devotion, the nine-day festival gives a great chance to experience the rich Bengali culture.
During this period, you will notice number of small pandals (tents) based on different themes and people soaked in festivities even during the wee hours.
The real zeal of the festival is primarily witnessed in West Bengal, but almost in every part of the nation, Bengali community gathers to make the festival in full mood.
Gujarati twist
When it comes to Navratri, we cannot ignore the Gujarati customs. Navratri brings Gujarat alive with gusto for celebration through music, dance and food.
Yes Yes Yes, it’s 21st century but our Gujaratis are stick to their age-old culture on nine days of the festivity. Women in lehenga cholis and men in traditional kedias look their best on festive evenings when they gather to perform Garba and Dandiya Rasa, the most popular folk dances of Gujarat. The cultural celebration centers on the worship of Maa Amba.
Though, Dandiya Rasa is organised in every part of India, but it’s worth going to Gujarat at least once during this period.
Food ‘o’ Food
Food is also among the priority during the festive season. Though a large number of people go on fast (Vrata) for nine days where they can eat a specific kind of food items avoiding spices. No, the food won’t be boring at all.
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Yes, it’s quite difficult and time consuming to cook a special Navratri cuisine. So don’t to worry just move into any Indian food chain outlet and call for a Special Navratri thali. Your thali will consist of singhara atta puris, aloo rasedaar, shahi paneer, sabudana tikki, arbi rasedaar, raita and at the end a sweet dish. And don’t worry about the expenses; the whole meal is quite pocket friendly varying from place-to-place.
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