Navratri

Dandiya, the most awaited traditional dance festival.

Navratri, the festival of nights, lasts for 9 days with three days each devoted to worship of Ma Durga, the Goddess of Valor, Ma Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Ma Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge. During the nine days of Navratri, feasting and fasting take precedence over all normal daily activities amongst the Hindus. Evenings give rise to the religious dances in order to worhip Goddess Durga Maa.

1st - 3rd day of Navratri
On the first day of the Navaratras, a small bed of mud is prepared in the puja room of the house and barley seeds are sown on it. On the tenth day, the shoots are about 3 - 5 inches in length. After the puja, these seedlings are pulled out and given to devotees as a blessing from god. These initial days are dedicated to Durga Maa, the Goddess of power and energy. Her various manifestations, Kumari, Parvati and Kali are all worshipped during these days. They represent the three different classes of womanhood that include the child, the young girl and the mature woman.

4th - 6th day of Navratri
During these days, Lakshmi Maa, the Goddess of peace and prosperity is worshipped. On the fifth day which is known as Lalita Panchami, it is traditional, to gather and display all literature available in the house, light a lamp or 'diya' to invoke Saraswati Maa, the Goddess of knowledge and art.

7th - 8th day of Navratri
These final days belong to Saraswati Maa who is worshipped to acquire the spiritual knowledge. This in turn will free us from all earthly bondage. But on the 8th day of this colourful festival, yagna (holy fire) is performed. Ghee (clarified butter), kheer (rice pudding) and sesame seeds form the holy offering to Goddess Durga Maa.

Mahanavami
The festival of Navratri culminates in Mahanavami. On this day Kanya Puja is performed. Nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped. Their feet are washed as a mark of respect for the Goddess and then they are offered new clothes as gifts by the worshiper. This ritual is performed in most parts of the country.

Ya Devi svarbhabhuteshu Shaktirupena sangstitha" |
"namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaH" ||
"Ya Devi svarbhabhuteshu Matrirupena sangstitha" |
"namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaH" ||
"Ya Devi svarbhabhuteshu Shantirupena sangstitha" |
"namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaH" ||

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Mahalaya announces the arrival of Maa Durga on earth. Devi Durga is the demon slayer; the killer of buffalo-demon. Chandipath, an ancient holy book, weaves this tale of the Primordial source of energy that is the savior of the entire heavens.

She is the goddess with several names – Narayani, Brahmani, Maheswari, Shivaduti, Shaktirupi etc. All the great Gods create this radiant Goddess, to kill the demon Mahishasur. Armed with all kinds of weapons (bestowed by various gods during her creation), Maa Durga defeats the Demons (Asura) and restores goodness on earth.

Mahalaya depicts the beginning of this epical journey towards truth. To understand the gravity of this battle is far beyond the realm of normal human comprehension. Yet we humans understand the importance of truth and therefore Durga Puja is a wondrous way to commemorate this eternal force of God.

The Mahalaya celebration in a traditional Bengali household is very different.

Just like Mahalaya announces the arrival of Devi Durga on earth, for a bong family the occasion is like a flagship for the coming ten days. In other words, come Mahalaya and the entire family starts counting the days left for Saptami to arrive --that is the day when the real celebrations begin.

On Mahalaya a typical scene can be viewed in almost all traditional Bengali households. At the break of dawn the entire family wakes up and huddles together around a small transmitter or radio sharp at 4 a.m. This passage of rituals has been followed ever since the 1930s when All India Radio launched a program called “Mahisasura Mardini” or “The Annihilation of the Demon.”

This program is close to the heart and soul of several Bengalis. The program is basically a narration of the entire battle of Maa Durga with Mahishasur. Several Bengali families wake up early in the morning and relieve the moments of glory by heralding the goddess. The immortal verses of Chandipath, i.e., chanting from the Chandi, in the voice of late Birendra Krishna Bhadra has now become synonymous to Mahalaya.