Celebrate this Navratri on these days

India is a land of festivals and we Indians leave no opportune moment to deck up, meet and greet and of course, share gifts. Such a festival of effervescence is just waiting round the corner, Navratri. Goddess Durga will be worshipped in many form across India during that time of October, whilst Bengalis will worship her as Maa Durga whose vehicle is Lion and during Navratri, she is worshipped in the form of Maata Sherawali during nine days in the calendar. Navratri is interpreted as the nine nights which is one of the highly coveted Hindu festival in India. Cutting across the national barriers, Navratri is observed by Indians settled in overseas too thereby making it a grand affair.

What is the significance behind performing Navratri?

Navratri is observed to celebrate the glory of goddess Durga who is symbolic of purity and power, both combined. During the period of nine days, devotees perform ritualistic puja and fasting aligned by resplendent celebrations. The pomp and grandeur of the celebration is a biggest attraction for all the devotees across the universe. The dates of Navratri resonates with the lunar calendar and it is celebrated twice a year, one is Chaitra Navratri which is observed during March/April and Sharad Navratri which is performed during September/October. This is the magnet for people from across the villages and cities who gather in order to pay their heartfelt gratitude to the goddess. Navratri represents different aspects of goddess Durga including Laxmi and Saraswati. The soulful renditions of Bhajans become the earworm for the devotees during those consecutive nine days.

Read: Navratri Colours: Look Stylish This Navratri By Wearing Something Special.

What is the Navratri celebration like?

During those nine days, music and dance are performed as a means of celebration. Gujarat, the state in India is the main focus of the celebration where the magnificence goes to superlatives. Music and dance is performed all night long which is called Dandiya or Garba. Garba is basically a devotional dance which is derived from the folklores of Lord Krishna. It symbolizes the sight of Lord Krishna dancing and singing with his Gopis in using slim wooden sticks as props. In the regular scene, people wear brightly colored clothes with acoustics to accompany.

What Navratri symbolizes?

Navratri symbolizes the archaic concept of good over evil however there are varied interpretations of the same across the country. A lot of people, that is to say devotees contemplate to take a pilgrimage to the Vaishnodevi shrine in Jammu during that period. Another predominant celebration of Navratri happens in Himachal Pradesh which is called the Navratri mela. The devotees mark the end of Navratri festival by performing Dussera.

Read: Navratri: Facts and myths yo should know!

The dates for Navratri in the year 2018:

There is a tidal wave of ececstasy that engulfs Indian subcontinent during this time of Navratri festival. Indians irrespective of their religion take part in this festival thereby making it grand. Goddess Durga is the highest form of purity, sanctity and power or Shakti and worshipping her will bring you prosperity for the lifetime. India is a land of gods and hence there are no dearths of festivals too but Durga Puja or Navratri has the highest amount of engagement from the devotees in that respect.

In South India, people organize the idol of the goddess in step pattern and worship her accordingly to seek her grace and poise. During this festival, Goddess Durga is worshipped during the first three days where as goddess Lakshmi is worshipped for the remaining days.

Dussera is also a pure ritual among the Hindus where the idol of Ravana is burned which is symbolic of slaying the evil. In the Ramayana, Ravana abducted Rama's wife Sita which was deemed as a sin and Rama moved heaven and earth to rescue his wife and in his pursuit, he was accompanied by Lord Hanumana. Eventually, Good triumphed over evil and Rama was able to rescue Sita by slaying the evil Ravana. Dussera brings back that incident only when Rama, the symbol of virtue and Ravana, the symbol of vice fought and the evil was defeated as a result.