Deven Comen on the Hindu Holiday Navratri

“Dusserhra is a celebration, a reaffirmation of the goodness in us which always triumphs over evil. Happy Dusserhra to you.”

Who knew that I would learn about the meaning of Hindu holidays from a text message? In India, everyone SMS-es. The chaiwallas, the security guards, the teenage kids downloading ring tones, even my quite hip ‘hostel mom’ Swapna used the above text to wish me a Happy Dusserha, the tenth day of the Hindu holiday of “Nine Nights”: Navratri.

The first three days are devoted to Dhurga, a warrior and a very strong female also known as Kali. The second three days are devoted to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity and the final three days are devoted to Saraswati, goddess of wisdom and learning. All three goddesses have great shakti, or divine power and energy. During Navratri, Hindus seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, thus the nine nights of worship.

From the hostel, I could hear the drums and sounds of the procession, for all nine nights. I was instructed to stay inside, namely because:

a) I’'m foreign. I attract a lot of unwarranted attention which is “dangerous” according to my host. Her concern is appreciated, but having to drive around to view the idols without even getting to roll down the window feels overprotective.

b) Firecrackers are really scary. In fact, her 14 year old son still has burn marks from a wayward firecracker popular at Indian festivals. Newspapers feature government advertisements warning about the noise and air pollution caused by “crackers.” However, to be the one family not participating in traditional “cracker” burning is hard to incentivize.

Anyway, I got to partake in some traditions of the nine days, with supervision. People deck out their cars and two wheelers with chains of orange carnations throughout the festival. During the Dhurga portion, I visited some the goddess also known as Kali, the goddess who destroys all our human impurities. I also took part in traditional garba and dandiya raas dance, popular particularly in the neighboring state of Gujarat.

During the days spent worshiping Saraswati, all objects involving learning or wisdom are honored. The tools used in knowledge created are worshiped, from the implements of agriculture, the manufacturer's machines, the intellectual’s pens, the household articles, and the children's schoolbooks. For example, a friend visited her host dad’'s factory, watching each of the machines be blessed and prayed to. Our program’s, computers, and printer had the red dot of chili powder and orange saffron on the top, a mark of blessing and thanks.

For the Navatri days devoted to Lakshmi, our hostel mom took us for a quick drive to view nearby idols. The stages upon which the idols are placed seem to be permanent features in the streets of Pune; with all the festivals, only the specific god and interior décor changes regularly. One idol was nestled inside a temple filled with water. One literally wades knee deep clutching the ten Rupees (to be offered to the goddess of wealth) in exchange for promised blessing.

According to the Ramayana (Hindu scripture) Dusserhra, the last day, is special because Lord Rama invoked the blessings of Durga for the killing of Ravana, the ten-headed demon king of Sri Lanka who had abducted Sita, wife of Lord Rama. On this auspicious day, many Indians start new ventures believed likely successful. Hence, all the undertakings be it laying-in of foundation of a new building. Some open a new commercial establishment or in Swapna’s case, resolve to practice twenty namascar salutations (sun salutations) ever morning “from Dussehra to Dussehra.” I resolved to spend 2 minutes every night recalling the blessings of my day. Hopefully I can keep it up all the way until next Navratri.