Yesterday marked the start of Durga Puja, a Hindu festival that celebrates the goddess Durga’s victory over the evil, shape-shifting buffalo demon Mahishasura. Festival-goers celebrate at temporary temples, called pandals, filled with idols worshiping the goddess Durga that compete to be the most extravagant. At the end of the festivities, the idols are ceremoniously set into a body of water, returning the goddess to her home in nature.
Watch as Local Guides Joy, Resham, and Amitabh take us around Kolkata, India for last year’s celebrations.
How are you celebrating Durga Puja? Tell us in the comments below and share photos of your favorite pandals!
Hey Local Guides, So here comes the start line of Indian festive season. From tomorrow Navratri is getting started and the main activity pops up is The Garba ( Dance Form). Though Many of them will take place in Pandals ( Place where the Idol of goddess is placed and worshipped) but many will be held on the roads in the night time. This time we Local Guides have to work hard as Our opinions on Shops for buying jewellery, costumes, dresses etc. will matter a lot.
NOTE: If possible do not forget to mention the Timings of garbas in Colonies or Pandals. So that if it occurs on road People will not get disturbed.
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Don’t forget to keep us posted with photos from the festival :).
@VasT Thank You Sir for that usefull Info but I already gave my introduction😊. And Yes, I will be posting the Photos and Posts related to Colourful Indian Festivals.
Navaratri (Nine Nights) is a festival celebrated mostly by Hindus through out the India. In Southern part of India, mainly in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, many of the homes display beautiful dolls. Bommai (Doll) Golu is the artistic display of dolls on numbered tiers or steps, usually made of wood. The nine steps represent the nine days of Navaratri. Traditionally, a few top steps include idols of Hindu Gods and a kalash (ceremonial jar) with fresh water, covered with a coconut and mango leaves. The next few steps have idols of saints and heroes of the country. Another step represents human activities, depicting functions such as marriage, temples, and an orchestra or music band. Business is usually represented by the Chettiar set of dolls, with shop items and wooden dolls called Marapachi dressed in colorful clothes. It is a custom to add a few new dolls every year.
Children recite slokas, sing songs and eat special dishes offered to the Gods, especially the protein-rich dish called sundal (which is made of legumes) with some sweets and fruits. Women folk exchange betel leaves, betel nuts, coconuts, fruits, flowers and bangles to the visitors.
Today, 10th October 2018, is the first day of Navaratri and you can see here various Golu displays. I will keep on posting the photographs of Golu taken from my friends home here in Chennai during Navaratri.
It is Friday, 12th October 2018 and I am posting photos taken in a Golu in Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, Chennai and also some other photos from Golu in other places.
It is fourth day of Navarathri and I am sharing some of the Golu pictures taken from Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple here. Hope you like these pictures.
The powerful form of Mother Goddess (Durga Puja) is highly revered in Kolkata which is why her return is celebrated with much grandeur and ceremonies.
The gorgeously decorated pandals each emphasize a theme; be it the legends of Goddess Durga or scenes from Hindu epic texts. Nowadays, some pandals are themed on a social cause to spread awareness. Day time is usually better to see the pandals closely when the crowd is less however; the brightly lit pandals in hundreds of colors is quite a sight of its own in the evenings.
Few Pandals which I visted yesterday…Many more to come. Request all kolkata local guides to tag more pictures from your pandal hoppings…
Navaratri, also spelled Navratri or Navarathri, is a nine nights Hindu festival, celebrated in the autumn every year. Celebrations include stage decorations, recital of the legend, enacting of the story, and chanting of the scriptures of Hinduism. Refer Navratri for more information.
