Navarathri

Yet another "Navarathri" has come. And everyone around have become really busy doing pujas, lalitha sahasranamams, making chundals, visiting other houses for "Golu" .... The navami and dashami (9th and 10th day) is considered as auspisious for starting new ventures, professional prosperity, education prosperity, art & music etc . Navarathri and "Golu" is mainly in southern states of India. In some parts of India it is celebrated as "Dusserha".

"Golu" brings me lot of childhood memories.

Arranging the "Golu", the park, colour kolams etc were all real fun. Everyone at home join hands to make the "Golu" arrangement and decorate it.

Being a girl has lot of advantages during this festival. A small girl child (Kanni ponnu) is considered as "Goddess Kamakshi" and whatever is offered to small girls are beleived to be offering accepted by the goddess.

So girls are invited to "Golus" and are given lot of goodies (as children say these days) like new dress, bangles, bindhis etc along with the thamboolam. The thambolam consists of the betal leaf an aracanut, turmeric, kumkum, banana and a 1 rupee coin. We girls used to collect these coins for our piggy banks, making the boys at home jealous! Boys get usually their share of the chundal in the evenings!

Every mami used to compete to make different types of chundal and sweets and children used to compete to get the taste form as many houses as possible. But the current "Golu" trends have changed a lot.

Another important memory that comes to mind is the "Navarathri Katcheri" at the Saraswathi mandapam near Padmanabhaswami temple at Thiruvananthapuram. All the nine days, vetarans of music will sing at the mandapam. The royal family willbe there to listen. Public are also allowed. This tradition was started by Maharaja Swathithirunal.
Any music lover from Thiruvananthapuram cannot forget this event.

Some links of interest :

http://chennaionline.com/specials/navaratri04/navarathiri.asp
http://www.indiatastes.com/festivals/navarathri/durga.shtml
Navarathri festival at Thiruvananthapuram
http://www.swathithirunal.in/rlinsti/navarathrimand.htm