Random memories

Navrathri

Navrathri has always been my most favorite time of the year. The nine nights of Devi not only gives me empowerment as Shakthi and the pillar of my household, but it also brings back a lot of childhood memories.
Being the youngest of three girls, I have always been blessed with the best.  Navrathri time has always been special in our household. Preparations for it started early. I remember how all of us used to decorate our house during Navrathri. In south india, we celebrate Navrathi by setting up golu. Golu, typically consisted of shelves built or put up and it had to be in odd numbers.

First of all, the steps were decorated with beautiful, colorful clothes and then dolls were arranged neatly and in order. Our Dad got the shelves all set up for us but we took charge of setting the dolls up. Most of the dolls were Gods and Goddesses but we also build parks, a cricket team, wedding party, a nice living area, kitchen with tiny utensils etc. This was the time to kindle your creativity. There were some elaborate and some simple but they were all beautiful and a pleasure to watch.

As a little girl, I would dress up in pattu pavadai ( a long skirt with matching blouse made with silk), adorn the hair with jasmine and have henna on my palms. i loved wearing anklets that jingled when I would go around the neighbourhood, inviting people to our house for vethala paaku (beetle leaf and nuts). This invitation was for women and girls. Mom would make sundal (a spicy dish made with chick peas) or payaru ( a sweet dish made with jaggery and lentils) as offering and the same would be packed for the visitors to take home..

The ladies who would come to accept the offering would get beetle leaf and nut with flower, coconut, a small mirror, a small comb, a piece of turmeric, kumkum, fruit and ofcourse the wrapped up sundal. We would ask everyone to sing in front of the Golu and some over enthusiastic aunties would entertain us with their songs multiple times.

My mom and the three of us would sing the Mahishasuramardhini song every day. It is believed that Devi killed a terrible demon called Mahishasur on the 8th day or Ashtami. On the 9th day we would bring all our books and invoke Saraswathi, the goddess of education, art, learning etc. and on the 10th day, with the blessings of Saraswathi, took our books and continued to study. It was important that we learn something new on this day. This has always been considered an auspicious day to start any kind of art form such as dance or music. We would get blessings from our teachers and all the elders in the family.

As you grow up you realize that we are all Devi in one form or the other and we are all killing Mahishasur every day. The demon comes in the form of our mind, our thoughts, the problems we create for ourselves because of our egos. Some of us even enjoy being unhappy, which is not even our true nature. We let the world know that we are stressed out all the time. Enough is enough.

Navrathri is an opportunity for us to purify ourselves and invoke the true pure Devi that exists is each of us.

Brinda Subramanian