NAVRATRI (DURGA PUJA)

NAVRATRI (DURGA PUJA) IN Eastern India and West Bengal 

The Navratri (Durga puja) is celebrated as the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal. It is the most important annual festival to Bengali Hindus, and a major social and public event in eastern and northeastern states of India, where it dominates the religious life. The occasion is celebrated with thousands of temporary stages called pandals are built in community squares, roadside shrines and large Durga temples in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Nepal, Assam, Tripura and nearby regions. It is also observed by some Shakta Hindus as a private, home-based festival.Navratri (Durga puja)festival marks the battle of goddess Durga with the shape-shifting, deceptive and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura, and her emerging victorious.

The last five days of Navratri (Durga puja) mark the popular practices during Navratri (Durga puja) .The festival begins with Mahalaya, a day where Shakta Hindus remember the loved ones who have died, as well the advent of warrior goddess Durga. The next most significant day of Navratri (Durga puja) celebrations is the sixth day, called Shashthi where the local community welcome the goddess Durga Devi and festive celebrations are inaugurated. On the seventh day , eighth  and ninth (Navami), Durga along with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya are revered and these days mark the main Puja  with recitation of the scriptures, the legends of Durga in Devi Mahatmya and social visits by families to elaborately decorated and lighted up temples and pandals . After the nine nights, on the tenth day called Vijayadashami, a great procession is held where the clay statues are ceremoniously walked to a river or ocean coast for a solemn goodbye to Durga. Many mark their faces with vermilion (sindoor) or dress in something red. It is an emotional day for some devotees, and the congregation sings emotional goodbye songs. After the procession, Hindus distribute sweets and gifts, visit their friends and family members.

 

 NAVRATRI (DURGA PUJA) IN NORTH INDIA

 

In North India,Navratri (Durga puja) is marked by the numerous Ramlila events, where episodes from the story of Rama and Ravana are enacted by teams of artists in rural and urban centers, inside temples or in temporarily constructed stages for Navratri (Durga puja). This Hindu tradition of festive performance arts was inscribed by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" in 2008. The festivities, state UNESCO, include songs, narration, recital and dialogue based on the Hindu text Ramacharitmanas by Tulsidas. It is particularly notable in historically important Hindu cities of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, Satna and Madhubani – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Navratri (Durga puja) festival and dramatic enactment of the virtues versus vices filled story is organized by communities in hundreds of small villages and towns, attracting a mix of audience from different social, gender and economic backgrounds. In many parts, the audience and villagers join in and participate spontaneously, some helping the artists, others helping with stage set up, create make-up, effigies and lights.

 

 

Navratri (Durga puja) has historically been a prominent ritual festival for kings and military of a kingdom. At the end of the Navratri (Durga puja), comes Dussehra, where the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghanada are burnt to celebrate the victory of good  over evil forces on Vijayadashami.Elsewhere, during this religious observance, goddess Durga's war against deception and evil is remembered. A pot is installed at a sanctified place at home. A lamp is kept lit in the pot for nine days of Navratri (Durga puja). The pot symbolises the universe. The uninterrupted lit lamp symbolizes the Adishakti, i.e. Durga Devi.

 

BEST PANDALS FOR  NAVRATRI (DURGA PUJA)