Durga Puja In India

Durga is known by many names, such as Parvati, Amba, kali. All over India, she is known with different names and people worship her with different festivals and diiferent styles. In Kashmir she is worshipped as Shaarika. The main temple is situated in Hari Parbat in Srinagar.

In Gujarat Durga Puja is celebrated as the last day of Navaratri, during which the Garba dance is performed to celebrate the vigorous victory of Mahishasura-mardini Durga.

In Maharashtra, Durga Puja is an occasion for fun gaiety. For the duration of Nav Ratri or Nine nights, Puja is performed each day. The idol of Kali is anointed and garlanded each day with fresh garlands. These garlands are not removed. At the end of nine days, all nine garlands are removed. The point to be noted here is how Kali is worshipped as the Sacred Feminine and the young girls who have not attained puberty are considered a form of Shakti or Goddess kali. These young girls in the form of Kali are invited to eat, play games, dance and sing. An elephant is drawn with rangoli and the girls play guessing games. Then they are fed a meal of their choice.