Navratri 2023: What is the Hindu festival about and how is it celebrated?

The festive season is poised to start in India with Navratri, some of the essential Hindu festivals of the 12 months.

The nine-day competition, which begins on Sunday this 12 months, will likely be adopted by Dussehra, Dhanteras and Diwali, the competition of lights, in November.

What’s Navratri?

There are 4 Navratri festivals yearly within the Hindu calendar. Nevertheless, the sharada or autumn Navratri is essentially the most important.

Celebrated in honour of the deity Durga, festivities happen throughout 9 days. The identify Navratri comes from Sanskrit – nava means 9 and ratri is evening.

When is Navratri 2023?

The dates for Navratri modifications yearly, because it falls in Ashvin, the seventh month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Festivities often start on the brand new moon. This 12 months, it begins on Sunday.

Dussehra will fall on October 24 and Diwali is on November 12.

How is Navratri celebrated?

In India, and amongst Hindu communities around the globe, Navratri is well known in several methods, however all in honour of Durga, a deity related to safety, energy, motherhood and destruction. The competition can be a financial institution vacation in most elements of India.

In japanese India, it is marked by Durga puja, which celebrates the victory of Durga over the demon Mahishasura. Intricate idols of Durga are arrange in marquees throughout numerous communities the place songs and dances are carried out throughout 9 days. On the tenth day, the idols are immersed in water, in rivers and lakes, amid dances, feasts and different celebrations.

In South India, Durga is revered as Kali, one of many deity’s many avatars.

In North India, Ramlila occasions are noticed, the place the story of the deity Ram is enacted as per the Hindu epic Ramayana. Translating to Ram’s play from Sanskrit, the age-old efficiency then culminates in Dussehra, the place an effigy of Ravana, the demon king, is burnt, signifying the victory of fine over evil.

Each the Ramlila and Durga puja are inscribed in Unesco’s record of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

One other spotlight of Navratri is the efficiency of garba, the communal dance that originated within the western Indian state of Gujarat. Teams of individuals wearing vibrant conventional garments type circles and dance in co-ordinated actions utilizing dandiyas or sticks. The garba might be fairly a spectacle, with dance circles typically reaching a whole lot of individuals.

Occasions within the UAE

Navratri celebrations around the globe, together with within the UAE, typically characteristic live shows by prime artists, with crowds performing the garba in unison.

Navratri Utsav – Dandiya Nights, that includes prime Bollywood performers, is being held this 12 months for 2 nights on October 20 and 21 at Zabeel Park Amphitheatre in Dubai. Tickets, beginning at Dh35, can be found on platinumlist.internet.

Atrangi Navratri can be being held at Time Sq. in Dubai Sports activities Metropolis from October 13 to fifteen. Organisers promise garba occasions in addition to performances and an evening devoted to “disco dandiya”. Tickets, beginning at Dh45 for a single-day go, can be found at 800tickets.com.

A lot of eating places are additionally serving particular navratri menus, together with Dhaba Lane, which is providing a nine-dish Navratri thali for Dh45. The menu is accessible from Sunday till October 24 on the restaurant’s branches in Karama, Garhoud, Al Nahda and JLT.

Nice-dining restaurant Punjab Grill can be serving a set menu for Dh150 from Wednesday till October 24, which features a three-course meal of festive classics. The Navratri set menu is accessible on the restaurant’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches.