Navaratri

By Aiesha & Pari Patel

Editor: Breanna Naysmith

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Navarati is a Hindu holiday in which you celebrate the commemoration of the Hindu goddess Durga. Navaratri lasts nine days for the nine forms Goddess Durga takes on. Goddess Gurga is the god of power, energy, and strength. Her nine forms are Goddess Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri. It also represents the nine days it took for Durga to find and defeat the demon Mahishasura in battle. This event can last up to 10 days. This year it started on October 7th and ended on October 16. In India, it is celebrated 4 times a year, while in America it is celebrated once a year.

To celebrate this event we attend Garba. Garba is a festival held every night for the nine days. We dance in a circle around the decorated sculptures of Durga. We do intricate dances that are fun. It usually takes 30 minutes just for one dance to finish, but you can join the circle whenever you like and leave whenever you get tired. Usually, when the dance is about to end, the speed of the dance starts to get faster, which makes it more challenging, but more fun. When we attend this special occasion, we wear dresses called Saris. It’s a fancy dress that we also wore in the pictures above. There are many different colors and designs that you can pick. This is what the holiday is all about.