Navaratri Festival – A Celebration of Femininity !!
Navaratri also spelled Navratri or Navarathri, is a nine nights (and ten days) Hindu festival, celebrated in the autumn every year. The festival is celebrated in the bright half of the Hindu calendar month Ashvin. This normally falls during the months of September and October.
Every Indian festival has some reason and significance behind its celebration. Similarly, Navarathri is also observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of India.
In the eastern and northeastern states of India, the festival of Navratri is celebrated as Durga Pooja wherein goddess Durga battles and emerges victorious over the buffalo demon to help restore Dharma.
In the northern and western states, the festival is synonymous with “Rama Lila” and “Dussehra” that celebrates the battle and victory of god Rama over the demon king Ravana.
In southern states, 3 different forms of Mother Goddess namely Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi are worshipped. Though the Goddess is one, She is represented and worshipped in three different aspects. On the first three nights of the festival, Goddess Durga is worshipped followed by Goddess Lakshmi for the next 3 nights and then Saraswati Devi on the last three nights.
In all these cases, the common theme of Navaratri is the battle and victory of Good over Evil.
Women take a central stage in this festival and it is a celebration of feminine qualities such as dance, music, and decoration. This 10-day celebration is also a reminder of the historic status of women in India and how they held a lot more power in ancient India.
