From fasting to wearing colourful outfits to maintaining discipline, celebrities share with us how they celebrate these nine auspicious days of Navratri
Vijayendra Kumeria
Being a Punjabi, Navratri is a very important festival for me. I am a firm believer in the power of Matarani and love the Garba nights and celebrations too. I spent my childhood in Gujarat and I love the energy this festival brings. I do not fast but follow a strict vegetarian diet these days.
Mitaali Nag
I fast on the first and the last day of Navratri. Every year, I do the Saptashati Path religiously. I light the Akhand diya for the 9 days and invite little girls on the second last day and host them with lunch and small gifts. Yes, every day has its own colour. I try my best to follow the colour theme and dress up accordingly.
Neelu Kohli
Navratri means festivities for me. It means fasting and detoxifying my inner self along with my body and also invoking the goddess in me. I’ve been fasting for the past 30 years but I stopped about two years back because of health reasons. This is such a festive time in my house because it means trying different recipes which are festive and also sattvic. Everybody in my house looks forward to Navratri food. This entire thing about lighting the Akhand diya and everything is so beautiful.
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Jay Zaveri
Navratri festival symbolises the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura or demon, signifying the victory of good over evil. Each day of Navratri is dedicated to nine different outers of the goddess, and the first three days of the Navaratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga. The next three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. And the last three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. Being a Gujarati, we celebrate this festival with lots of joy and excitement. I don’t fast but I prefer not to eat any non veg food during these nine days of Navaratri and we do a small Aarti of the Garba. That’s the ritual which is followed at our place. Navratri is often said, as sunburn of Gujarati, wherein for the nine days, we dance and enjoy the night with Gujarati folk music, so, yeah, I am no exception. In fact, I’ve won prizes at my college level in folk dance. I love dancing so I make a point that I go all nine days and play Garba with my friends.
Ashoka Thackur
It’s a very special festival for everyone, I fast and I don’t eat ginger and garlic. We eat proper Jain food and we get a clay statue of Goddess like we get Ganpati Bappa. We do aarti every day and do the visarjan on the 9th day. I follow all the rules and discipline. I walk barefoot for 9 days and I also try to wear the colour theme of clothes on each day.
Sudhanshu Pandey
The time of Navratri is very auspicious because during these 9 days, we pray to the nine forms of Goddess. I do keep a fast in Navratri. I follow discipline in terms of doing my prayers on time and pray three times a day. During Navratri, I keep in mind that I do not miss the puja. It’s the time to pray and to appreciate womanhood, to appreciate the nine forms of Mata Rani and celebrate them with dance and music.
Charrul Malik
Navratri is just around the corner and I’m very excited because Navratri, for me, means lots of colours and lights, dandiya, and food, of course. I don’t fast because it gets tough to fast when you are working in this industry. I am not into fasting though I fast for the first and last day. This festival is full of lights and colours. I don’t follow particular disciplines or rules. This festival is very close to my heart. I used to get all decked up in garba outfits for my show and I used to love that. Navratri
Anupama Solanki
During this festival we get the opportunity to play dandiya and everywhere you see lights and positivity. Everyone enjoys this festival from children to old people. Whenever I used to go to Chandigarh, I would enjoy a totally vibe there. There used to be long lines outside the temple, people used to do havan and pooja and I really enjoyed all these festivities. Navratri is my all time favourite festival.
