Worship
Navratri is a Hindu festival of worship and dance. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Nava – Nine and Ratri – nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti (metaphor for goddess Durga) i.e. female divinity are worshipped.

Navratri is divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess or goddesses.

First three days
The goddess is invoked as a spiritual force called Durga also known as kali in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects..

Second three days
The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth

Final three days
The final set of three days is spent in worshipping as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship.

Garba (dance)
Garba, is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. Unlike other famous types of Indian dance such as bharatanatyam and odissi, garba is much more similar to Western social dancing than the presentational style of the others. The greatest difference between garba and western social dancing is that it is circular and is religious in origin.

The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garba Deep. Garba, when translated, most closely resembles the English preposition inside, and Deep is a small earthenware lamp. For this reason, many traditional garbas are performed around a central lit lamp. Traditionally, it is performed during a nine-day festival called Navratri. Traditionally, either the lamp (the Garba Deep), or an image of Amba is placed in the middle of the concentric rings as an object of veneration, thereby delineating the dance. People dance around the deity clapping rhythmically. At every step they gracefully bend sideways, the arms coming together in sweeping gestures, up and down, left and right, each movement ending in clap.

More on this : Navratri Fastival

by Jaymin Patel

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