Navratri: Nine Nights of Devotion, Colour and Celebration
Navratri: Nine Nights of Devotion, Colour and Celebration A friendly guide to its meaning, its stories, and how to worship the Goddess on each of the nine days Introduction: Why Navratri Feels Different If you have ever walked through an Indian neighbourhood in autumn, you already know the feeling. Marigold garlands hang on doorways. Drums echo from community halls. Families wake up early, light lamps, and cook simple, sattvic meals. Somewhere nearby, a group is dancing garba until midnight. That is Navratri. The word comes from Sanskrit: nava means nine and ratri means nights. For nine nights and ten days, devotees honour Goddess Durga in her nine divine forms, known together as the Navadurga. But Navratri is more than a festival. It is a pause in the year, a time to clean our homes, quiet our minds, and reconnect with the Shakti, the divine feminine energy, that many believe holds the universe together. In this guide, we will walk through the meaning of Navratri, t...