Navratri is just round the corner - yet another virtually celebrated festival is here! Our diverse nation is where people of different religious beliefs live together in peace and harmony amongst us, and Navratri
is one of those festivals celebrated with so much joy and enthusiasm around all the different states of India.
Most of our Indian festivals are known by different names across different states, and Navratri is one such festival. While it is popularly known as Navratri, meaning 9 nights, in the western parts of India, it goes by Durga Puja in the eastern parts of the country.
The reason why we celebrate this festival is because it symbolizes the victory of the Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura, which signifies the victory of good over evil.
Navratri is a festival that celebrates the nine forms of Maa Durga across nine days. Devotees worship idols of Maa Durga by offering prayers and performing pujas. A vessel shaped like a pot is lit with diyas and other beautiful decoration and it is prayed to during this time. It is believed that Maa Durga resides in that vessel.
Many even observe fasts during these times of the celebration, and it is advisable to have lots of fruits and other energy foods on breaking the fast of the day.
Navratri includes a very important dance form called Garba Raas which originates from Gujarat. The dancers perform this dance style in circles around the vessel in honour of Maa Durga. This is the most popular dance form among most other folk dances performed during the nine day festival.
One way to celebrate this auspicious occasion is by following the nine Navratri colours tradition where one wears an outfits with the alloted colour of that day. It's truly beautiful to see how everyone around you joins in on the festivities by wearing matching coloured outfits!
Another great way of celebrating is by performing religious skits, plays and dramas around the theme of Navratri - which is good over the evil - a great message for everyone even today.
The essence of festivals is to meet your relatives and bring joy and happiness in the homes of people. The key aspect of the festival - good over evil - is mostly forgotten. This year it’s disheartening to see that families will not be able to meet due to the lockdown, but inspite of the current situations, there has been a great way of meeting online during the times of festivals. There are various workshops conducted virtually and this is a great way to enjoy this festival with your friends and family, in a slightly different manner.
So if you still aren't a part of any virtual Navratri celebration or a Navratri Raas Party, join Team SYNC in a one of a kind Fusion Garba Workshop conducted by Ms. Rutvi Mankad on the 12th of October, 2020. The timings for the same are 5 pm to 6 pm.
You can register here, and make sure to join our WhatsApp group for updates on this workshop!
Team SYNC Snippets wishes all its readers a happy and fun-filled Navratri! We hope you celebrate this festival keeping all the safety guidelines in mind and don't forget to join our Navratri-special virtual workshops by Ms. Rutvi Mankad!
- Ushma Shah (Team SYNC Snippets)
