Dasara
is celebrated allover India with a lot of fanfare and religious fervor. A religious as
well as a social festival, Dasara is an occasion for pujas and festivities like music,
dance and cultural programmes. In Southern India, especially in TamilNadu, Dasara is
celebrated as Navarathiri.
Navarathiri means nine nights.
"Navarathiri Subarathiri" as an old movie song
goes, signifies a very auspicious period.
Mythology
According to Hindu mythology, a very powerful Asura-demon
king Mahishasuran prayed to the almighty and asked for a boon - that his death should at
the hands of a woman and by no other human being or any form of living being.
On being granted his wish, he started inflicting atrocities
on all human beings on the earth. He considered himself to be immortal as he thought that
it was impossible for a woman or any female form of a human being to be powerful enough to
kill him.
When his cruelty became unbearable, people prayed to Sakthi
the consort of Lord Shiva to save them from the demon and to provide them with salvation.
Sakthi then took the form of Durga and slayed the demon.
The fight between Durga and Mahishasuran is said to have
lasted for nine days and nights.
Navarathiri : A Religious Festival
The period of nine days and nights when Goddess Durga
fought the Asura is celebrated as Navarathiri in Tamilnadu. The Goddess is worshipped
during these nine days and nights as it signifies the fight of the good over evil.
 Goddess Durga is considered as the personification of courage,
strength, and power and praying to the goddess, helps one to be blessed with all these
qualities especially during Dasara.
A very popular Sloka on Goddess Durga is:
Ayigiri Nandhini Nandhitha Medhini
Viswa Vinodhini Nandhanuthe
Girivara Vindhya Sirodhini Vasini
Vishnu Vilasini Jishnunuthe
Baghavathy He Sithi Kanda Kudumbhini
Boori Kudumbhini Boorikruthe
Jaya Jaya He Mahishasura Mardhini
Ramyaka Bardhini Sailasuthe.
The Goddess is worshipped in all her innumerable forms.
Yaa devi Sakthi rupena Samsthitha, Namasthasyay,
Namasthasyay, Namasthasyay, Namo Namaha.
A Kalasam i.e. a pot shaped brass / silver vessel
topped with mango leaves and coconut, smeared with turmeric and vermilion is kept and the
Kalasam is worshipped with reverence.
Special pujas are performed for the Goddess at home and in
temples during Navarathiri. In the temples, the Goddess is dressed in different forms
during these days like Annapoorani / Gajalakshmi / Durga / Meenakshi
/ Tripurasundari and so on. Processions of the idols of the Goddess are also
taken around the adjoining areas of the temple.
Married ladies pray to the Goddess for the well being of
the family and children by performing pujas and reciting Lalitha Sahasranamam.
Community prayers are conducted at various temples and at
other places of worship. Pujas are performed for the well being of the community and for
the nation.
The last 3 days of Navarathiri is a period of frenzied
pujas.
Ayudha Pooja
In commercial organizations, business houses, shops and
establishments the eighth or ninth day is celebrated as AYUDHA
POOJA. The entire place is cleaned and given a new
look. All the machines, equipments, tools etc. that are used in the organization are
cleaned and smeared with sandalwood paste (Chandanam) and vermilion (KumKum)
and adorned with flowers.
 The accounts books, other important documents are brought and kept
in the puja place. Pujas are performed to the Goddess invariably by a priest who
prays for the growth and prosperity of the organization.
Offerings of fruits, sweets, rice flakes (pori),
jaggery is made to the Goddess and is distributed to everyone as Prasadam.
Saraswathi Puja
In Hindu homes the eighth day or NAVAMI prayers are offered to
Goddess Saraswathi the Goddess of learning, seeking knowledge.
Books of children and youngsters as well as musical
instruments are placed before the Goddess on that day and pujas performed.
Hindus believe that the Goddess resides in books, in all
forms of reading / learning material as also in musical instruments. Saraswathi
is said to be a lover of music. The placing of these items in worship is therefore a sign
of respect to those forms that impart knowledge to us.
Vijayadasami
The tenth day i.e. DASAMI is considered a day of victory as it signifies the day Sakthi slays
the demon. It signifies the victory of good over evil. VIJAYADASAMI is a day to begin new ventures, be it business or education etc. as
it is an auspicious day and assures one of success.
 On Vijayadasami,
toddlers are taught their first alphabet and some of them are admitted to school on this
day to commence their formal education. Formal training in music, dance and other art
forms are invariably commenced only on Vijayadasami.
Vijayadasami is also the day to honour one's
teacher.
Navarathiri-a social festival
Navarathiri is also celebrated as a cultural and
social festival. In Tamilnadu, Navarathiri is celebrated by having Golus,
visiting friends and relatives or organising cultural bonanzas.
A number of cultural organisations conduct competitions for
children and women in the field of music, dance, cookery, floral arrangements and so on.
Lighter vein...........
 When we invite people it is customary to sing a kirtan (a song in
praise of the gods and goddesses). For those who have a knowledge of music, the festival
is a dais to exhibit their musical skills and revel in the praise showered (i.e. if the
singer sings well). For the uninitiated, it is a nightmare. I have seen women who talk in
a hoarse voice all ten days of Navarathiri. No, it is not because their vocal cords have
been strained due to excessive singing, but because they would like to escape from the
torture and pretend as if they have a soar throat.
You might wonder if it would not be much simpler to admit
to the lack of knowledge of music. But wait, it is a shame to say, "I don't know how
to sing". It is as sinful as a cuckoo bird not knowing how to cuckoo.
Many parents have hired music teachers to teach their girls
to sing, only for Golu. And then you have to be careful about not repeating a song very
often and also make sure the audience around you have not heard you sing the same song
earlier. You see they would have heard you at some other house. You have to remember what
song you sang, where and who were all present there.
Otherwise you would be mistaken for not knowing many songs.
At times it would be like an exam. Preparing for a professional music concert is far more
easier.
For children these mini music concerts are equally
disturbing. They will have to face their mothers wraths if any of the neighbors' or
friends' or relatives child sings better. Their mothers would feel terribly let down by
their wards.
And of course, there have been instances when over
enthusiastic, over zealous amateur singers trouble others with their not so sweet voice
and not so very good music sense. The trouble with these not so good singers is that they
refuse to accept their shortcomings and are adamant about punishing everyone's ears!!!!!!
Children anxiously await Saraswathi Puja as this is one day
when parents do not ask them to study. All their books are kept in the Puja. They are
really thrilled as they receive a respite from their boring studies once in a year!! But
children, smart as they are would demand for their books and demand to allowed to study on
that day, knowing fully well that they would not be allowed to do so. They just want to
hear their parents say that they need not study for they get to hear this only once a year
and it is like music to their ears.
Golu
Golu means display. Navarathiri in
Tamilnadu is celebrated with colour, gaiety and splendor in Hindu homes. The Golu
is arranged on the Mahalaya Amavasya - the New moon day. The Golu lasts for 10
days till Vijayadasami, when the idols are once again packed with care and sent
to the attic where they reside for the entire year till the next Golu.
Idols of Hindu gods, goddesses, sages, poets, mythological
characters, war heroes, national leaders, animals, etc are displayed on a row of steps
called Golu Padi. The number of steps on which the dolls are arranged are usually
in odd numbers ranging from 5 onwards. Idols are generally not arranged in three steps are
as it is not considered auspicious.
Wooden steps are used for Golu Padis. Sometimes a
makeshift Golu Padi is constructed with carton / wooden boxes etc.
The Golu Padi is then covered with white cloth (as
it forms a good background for the colorful idols) and decorated with paper flowers and
other decorations. The idols are then arranged on this Golu
Padi
The place of the Golu is decorated with colorful
lights, serial lamps, festoons and other decorations. Rangolis (colorful patterns with
colourful powders) and floral rangolis are also drawn in front of the Golu.
Theme Golus are also becoming popular. Golus
of various temples, temple rituals, dance forms, national integration, depiction of the
Hindu epics like Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, Sivapuranam, Hindu
Mythology are some of the very popular themes.
There will also be a park depicting children playing, an
animals park, a temple atop a hill, a river or a pond, a small town with beautiful houses,
streets, markets etc. A shop selling kitchen utensils, groceries, fruits and vegetables
owned by an elderly couple who are referred to as Chettiar and Chettichi
will definitely have a place in the Golu.
Modern themes like a cricket field with the players also
have found their way into the traditional Golu.
The idols are usually made of clay, paper mache, and wood.
Plastic dolls are also now added to the Golu. Women and children let loose their
power of imagination and use all their creative skills in making the Golu
innovative and compete with their neighbours in beautifying it. The men folk also give a
helping hand.
Women in their rustling Kancheepuram Pattu Pudavais
(Silk saris), dazzling gold and diamond jewellery and fragrant jasmines adorning their
beautiful black hair (in Tamilnadu a proper festive dressing is incomplete without a
string of jasmine flowers in the hair) visit their friends and relatives in the evening
inviting them to visit their house and receive Thambulam. This invitation is
accorded by offering KumKum (vermilion).
For young children of ages less than ten years, the Navarathiri
days are time for a fancy dress party. Mother's dress up their kids as Krishna, Radha,
Andal, Meera, Pattu Mami, and other characters, in the evenings. Small girls in their
beautiful pattu pavadais (long silk skirt falling upto the ankles with beautiful zari
borders and zari motifs) look like beautiful butterflies.
This is a time which is looked forward to eagerly by the
women as they get a chance to show off their new silk saris, jewellery, and engage in
lengthy discussions on saris and gold ornaments. As deepavali follows Dasara,
the ladies also get a chance to discuss with their friends about new arrivals and the
latest fashion and plan their deepavali purchases accordingly.
And an excellent platform for gossip about
mother-in-laws!!.
Thambulam
Giving Thambulams is as important as the Golu
itself and is an integral part of Golu. Thambulam is a gift consisting of betel
leaves, betel nuts, turmeric, vermilion, flowers and some fruit.
Coconut, a cloth for a blouse, glass bangles, a bindi / kumkum
container, a small mirror are also added to the Thambulam. Affluent people also
add small trinkets, small pictures or idols of hindu gods, goddesses, sloka
books, and other such useful items.
Soondal
And last but not the least the delicious, mouthwatering Soondals!
The Thambulam is accompanied by Soondal (a dish of cooked pulses).
Children look forward to these Soondals. Trying to remember who gave what Soondal
and assigning marks and awarding the best Soondal certificate is a game children
and elders enjoy during this time.
- RN |
