'Nav' means 'nine' and 'ratri' means 'night'. Thus, 'Navratri' means 'nine nights'.It is one of the most celebrated festivals of Hindu calendar, it holds special significance for Gujratis and Bengalis.
The first three days of Navratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga (Warrior Goddess) dressed in red and mounted on a lion. Her various incarnations - Kumari, Parvati and Kali - are worshipped during these days. They represent the three different classes of womanhood that include the child, the young girl and the mature woman.
Devotees bring in the Goddess Durga's idol through a procession on the first day of the Navratri festival
Next three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity), dressed in gold and mounted on an owl.
Last three are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess Of Knowledge), dressed in milky white and mounted on a pure white swan.
Navratri Festival in Gujarat
Garba Dance
The Garba of Gujarat is the most popular women's folk dance of Gujarat. During Navratri, a pot is ceremoniously placed attractive designs are made on the pot and a light is placed inside. Village girls bearing pots (garbis) on their heads go from door to door and dance around the respective house.
The leader of the group sings the first line of the song while the rest repeat it in chorus, the beat being produced clapping hands or striking sticks in unison. At every step they gracefully bend sideways, the arms coming together in beautiful sweeping gestures, up and down, left and right, each movement ending in clap.
The Garba is indeed a ceremony in which everyone can take part irrespective of caste or social position.
Devotees perform the Garba dance at the "Umiya Mata Temple" on the 8th Night of Navratri in Surat, about 270 kilometers (169 miles) south of Ahmadabad, India. Umiya Mata is the deity worshipped by Kadwa Patidar Hindus across the world - October4,2011
Rasa Dance
The Rasa dances are performed only by men and are often complex circular formations to represent designs of lotus and other designs considered magical religious and auspicious.
Navratri(Durga Puja) Festival in Kolkata
Visitors watching 14.5 meters tall goddess Durga idol on the day of 'Mahasaptami' at a community puja pandal in Kolkata
Goddess Durga stands as a symbol of Pollution at a community puja pandal in Kolkata
A Durga idol being taken to a puja pandal on the eve of the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata
Artist giving finishing touches to a Durga idol in Kolkata
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee admires the idol of Goddess Durga during their family Durga Puja at his ancestral village Mirati in West-Bengal.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with German tourists in front of an idol of Goddess Durga in Kolkata.
Devotees performing Durga Puja during the Navarathi celebration organised by Bengalee Samiti in Hyderabad
A priest in the Sahid Nagar pandal performing Saptami rituals in Bhubaneswar.
A priest performing rituals at Ashok Nagar Kalibari Samiti pandal in Bhubaneswar
The effigy of demon king Ravana is seen on the eve of celebarations of Dussehra festival in East Delhi
An idol maker dresses a clay statue of the Hindu goddess Durga in a workshop in New Delhi.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi Thackeray perform aarti of Goddess Durga during ongoing navratri festival at Tembi Naka in Thane, Mumbai
Ushaben Dave, 64, wears a metal structure consisting of 1151 oil lamps, prays during Navratri festival in Ahmedabad
A devotee pleads in front of goddess Durga to kill corruption, the way she killed asuras (demons), ahead of Durga Puja festival in Siliguri
