Shree, Souvenir - Durga Puja 2013, Assam Society of Bangalore Volume I | Page 87

Navaratri in

Uttarakhand
Shalini Tiwari
Every year in the month of October, Navaratri is
celebrated in Uttarakhand worshipping Goddess
Durga. It is a religious festival celebrating the
different aspects of Goddess of Durga. As the name
suggests, the festival is observed for a period of
nine nights. Usually, the dates of the festival are
determined following the lunar calendar.
The first three days of Navaratri is dedicated to
the worship of Maa Durga who is an embodiment
of Shakti. During these three days, people celebrate
the power of Durga to wipe out the evil forces.
Worshiping of Maa Durga is followed by the
worshipping of Maa Lakshmi and Maa Saraswati.
Maa Lakshmi is worshipped as the Goddess of
wealth while Maa Saraswathi is worshipped as the
Goddess of wisdom.
Navaratri is celebrated more passionately in
Uttarakhand. Amidst a complete festive
atmosphere, people in Uttarakhand participate in
the Navaratri festival and worship Maa Durga with
enthusiasm. The festival marks her victory over the
evil forces as represented by the demon
Mahisashura. The food culture associated with this
festival is interesting.

and fruits during this entire period. Some take a
single meal during the day. Many others take a
vegetarian, special diet without grains, onion and
garlic during Navratri. People hardly consume nonvegetarian diet during Navaratri.
Special Pooja Pandals are set up for Devi-Bhajan.
Huge crowd is noticeable as numerous people visit
the temples of Durga. These Shakti temples
organize different fairs to during this festival. On
the ninth day of Navratri, many women worship nine
teen girls under the age of 12 years. They offer
them home made vegetarian foods and gift articles
along with money and fruits. As per the traditional
mythology in Uttarakhand, they consider those nine
girls as nine different avatars of Maa Durga.
The festival is a major source of attraction to the
tourists who visit Uttarakhand. Many religious
believers and tourists visit the temples and
participate in the various religo-cultural activities.
The Shakti temples are decorated during Navaratri.
The special Puja Pandals are also worth visiting.
(The writer is from Uttarakhand and currently
working in Bengaluru)

Navaratri is a time of both fasting and feasting.
Many people observe fast from the first day to the
ninth day. Some people confine themselves to milk
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