Friday, October 10, 2014

Navratri 2014

Navratri is nine nights (that's what Navratri means) of music and dancing. The dancing begins around 9 PM and wraps up between midnight and 1 AM.

Garba dancing at the Rotary Club's Navratri festival.

Navratri is a very public festival, with many, if not most, apartment complexes hosting a place for puja (worship) and dance. Here's a selection of Navratri set-ups between the Rotary venue and our bungalow:




Other parts of India celebrate the same festival in different ways. In West Bengal, it's called "Durga Puja" and is celebrated in a more classical style. Bengalis living in Vapi have an annual cultural festival in association with Durga Puja.

Durga and her associates.
A close-up of the middle idol (Durga) slaying the demon.
There is still plenty of dance. The odd colors in these pictures are due to Indians' love of constantly changing colored lights and laser displays.


The whole festival wraps up on Dussehra, which this year was October 3rd. It's a major holiday in most parts of India. (So I'm only a week late in getting this put together and posted!)

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