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 Goddess
Durga
Every
year during the lunar month of Ashwin or Kartik! (September-October), Hindus
observe ten days of ceremonies, rituals, fasts and feasts in honor of the
supreme mother goddess. This
festival is devoted solely to the Mother Goddess — known variously as Durga,
Bhavani, Amba, Chandika, Gauri, Parvati, Mahishasuramardini — and her other
manifestations. The name “Durga” means “inaccessible”, and she is the
personification of the active side of the divine “shakti” energy of Lord
Shiva. In fact, she represents the furious powers of all the male gods, and is
the ferocious protector of the righteous, and destroyer of the evil. Durga is
usually portrayed as riding a lion, and carrying weapons in her many arms.
A Universal Festival
All Hindus celebrate this festival at the same time in different ways in
different parts of India as well as abroad.
 In the northern part of the
country, the first nine days of this festival, called Navratri, is commonly
observed as a time for rigorous fast, followed by celebrations on the tenth day.
In western India, throughout the nine days, both men and women participate in a
special kind of dance around an object of worship. In the south, Dusshera or the
tenth day is celebrated with a lot of fanfare. In the east, people go crazy over
Durga Puja, from the seventh till the tenth day of this annual festival. [The
figure above depicts a general geographical classification.]
Although,
the universal nature of the festival is often found to transcend regional
influences and local culture, the Garba Dance of Gujarat, Ramlila of Varanasi,
Dusshera of Mysore, and Durga Puja of Bengal need special mention.
The Garba & Dandia Dance
People in western India, especially in Gujarat, spend the nine nights of
Navratri (nav = nine; ratri = night) in song, dance and merriment.
Garba is a graceful form of dance, wherein women dressed in exquisitely
embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas, dance gracefully
in circles around a pot containing a lamp. The word “Garba” or “Garbha”
means “womb”, and in this context the lamp in the pot, symbolically
represent life within a womb. Besides the Garba is the “Dandia” dance, in
which men and women participate in pairs with small, decorated bamboo sticks
called dandias in their hands. At the end of these dandias are
tied tiny bells called ghungroos that make a jingling sound when the
sticks hit one another. The dance has a complex rhythm. The dancers begin with a
slow tempo, and go into frenzied movements, in such a manner that each person in
a circle not only performs a solo dance with his own sticks, but also strikes
his partner’s dandias in style!
Dusshera & Ramlila
Dusshera, as the name suggests occurs on the “tenth” day following the
Navratri. It is a festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and marks
the defeat and death of the demon king Ravana in the epic Ramayana. Huge
effigies of Ravana are burnt amidst the bangs and booms of firecrackers.
In
northern India, especially in Varanasi, Dusshera overlaps with “Ramlila” or
“Rama Drama” – traditional plays in which scenes from the epic saga of the
mythical Rama-Ravana strife are enacted by professional troupes.
The
Dusshera celebration of Mysore in southern India is a veritable extravaganza!
Chamundi, a form of Durga, is the family deity of the Maharaja of Mysore. It’s
a wonderful scene to watch the grand procession of elephants, horses and
courtiers wending a circuitous way to the hilltop temple of Goddess Chamundi!
Durga Puja
In eastern India, especially in Bengal, the Durga Puja is the principal festival
during Navratri. It is celebrated with gaiety and devotion through public
ceremonies of “Sarbojanin Puja” or community worship. Huge decorative
temporary structures called “pandals” are constructed to house these grand
prayer services, followed by mass feeding, and cultural functions. The earthen
icons of Goddess Durga, accompanied by those of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and
Kartikya, are taken out on the tenth day in a triumphal procession to the nearby
river, where they are ceremonially immersed. Bengali ladies give an
emotion-charged send-off to Durga amidst ululations and drumbeats. This marks
the end of the goddess’ brief visit to the earth. As Durga leaves for Mount
Kailash, the abode of her husband Shiva, it’s time for “Bijoya” or
Vijayadashami, when people visit each other’s homes, hug each other and
exchange sweets.
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