Navarathiri in India...
Here is a photo of a traditional kolu kept in south Indian homes.
When I was in mumbai, we used to keep kolu at home for ten days. My mom used to remove the dolls from the attic, and we used to oil them well. Then at the start of NavarAthri, we placed the dolls on the steps. The steps are made by placing the dining table, and some cardboard boxes. My dad used to make that arrangement. For children, he used to make some garden or a hill of sand near the kolu. We used to look forward to Navrathri !
My mom usually arranges three steps. We used to buy new dolls every year to be displayed. We have the dasavatara set, krishna leela set, and many differnt gods. And for fun we can also keep some dolls like wedding band set, animal, fruit sets and so on. Then we used to call the neighbouring ladies, most of them North Indians, who were our friends to come and see the dolls. My mom used to make the sundal(a preparation made of lentils) and we used to gift some lovely items to the ladies.
For children it is surely a fun thing. This tradition of keeping kolu has to be followed every year. Happy to see many people still following the tradition of keeping kolu in their homes. Saraswati pooja is performed where all the books, pens are kept in front of saraswati devi. On the Vijayadasami day, we worship all the items in our house and place a sandal and kumkum paste on them,as a sign of sacredness.
Since we were in Mumbai, We participated in NavrAthri celebrations of many other states too. Durga pooja is also looked forward to. I just cant forget the huge beautiful images of Durga which are placed in Pandals by the Bengali Associations. We used to visit the Pandals, and just loved the decorations there. Cultural programmes too used to be held on the side. We used to mingle with Bengalis and enjoy the festival.
And finally comes from Gujarat, the DAndiya Raas. We used to look forward to them too. We used to attend the Pandals where children and aduls alike participate in the the DAndiya Raas. It is a treat to see all of them dressed in traditional Gujarati finery dancing to the tunes of popular songs. Most of the songs are traditional Gujarati songs.
Thus, being brought up in mumbai, I have participated in the NavrAthri celebrations of many different states of India !
India is truly great to have so many festivals which bring people together and increase the feeling of brotherhood among us.
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