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Women's day out

Navratri is as much a time for women to network, as it is to offer prayers, finds Mangala Ramamoorthy

TIME TO REJOICE Children enjoying a Bommala koluvu display

Every culture has its own set of rituals for every festival, which is unique to that community. The best example for that would definitely be the Navratri or Dasara. The way Gujaratis celebrate this festival is much different from the way Bengalis, or for that matter Tamilians or Telugusdo it. And that definitely speaks a lot about the heterogeneity of our culture.

For Tamilians and Telugus, though the basic concept of Navratri is the same, the methodology of offering prayers and the rituals connected with it have its differences. If for the former, keeping the bommai kolu (toy display) is a quintessential way of the celebrating the occasion, for the latter it is more about worshipping the Mother Goddess in different forms, other than keeping the bommala koluvu. "We keep the bommalu (toys) on make-shift steps that are of odd numbers like three, five or seven. These toys are something I have been collecting since I got married. After doing the puja, we call the ladies home and offer them tamboolam, which consists of coconut, turmeric, kumkum, betel leaves and any small gift item. Every evening we make different kind of sundal, which is made out of pulses, and offer as naivediyam to the God," says Sumati Sridhar, a homemaker. For Satya Padma, a Telugu who works as a call centre executive, Navratri is a time to bind with her culture. "Every day of Navratri is dedicated to one Goddess, so we decorate the idol in Her favourite colour and prepare items that are considered to be Her favourite. Example, pulihora (tamarind rice) is supposed to be Goddess Durga's favourite. Married women are considered as Suhasini (reflection of Goddess) and brought home, fed well and given turmeric and kumkum," she says.

But whichever way you celebrate, Navratri is definitely an all women festival. Men have little to do or say during this period. It's a time women take out to meet one another, dressed in their festive best, and share their thoughts. "It is a very good social-cultural network. You get to meet up with people, whom you don't get to see often," feels Ananda Shankar Jayant, danseuse.

Though she has some lovely memories of elaborate rituals being performed by her grandmother and mother during her younger days, hectic schedules leaves her with little scope to do anything now.

"I don't do anything much during these days except for a puja in the morning. Even that is more a personal thing than a ritual. But as a dancer and a guru, Vijaya Dasami is of high importance to me. On that day, all my students come together to offer prayers and rededicate themselves to the art. It's also an induction day for new students. After praying, I teach them a new step or two to start with," elucidates Ananda.

Time constraint is a major factor for many workingwomen who find it extremely difficult to follow the rituals. Says Rajshri M, a freelance writer, "On a normal day, I don't even get time to light a deepam, but during Navratri, I take out time to offer prayers. You automatically feel like doing this. And I make it a point to follow a few rituals because daughter should learn them as well. It's important to pass on these customs to the next generation."

For the Bengalis all over the world, the essence of Durga Puja descends with the recital of Birendra Krishna Bhadra's `Chandi Kavya' by the All India Radio at 4 a.m. on the Mahalaya Day. They get engulfed with a unique sense of joy from that moment.

They celebrate it as the homecoming of Uma (Godess Parvati). The six-day annual fest starts from Panchami and ends with Vijaya Dasami. Apart from celebrating at home the Bengali diaspora get together to perform sarbojanin (community) pujas at different places.

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