CHENNAI: Navaratri is a nine-night, ten-day Hindu festival celebrated in the autumn of every year. In the southern states, the festival is divided into three parts. The first three days celebrate Goddess Durga, the following three days Goddess Lakshmi and the last three days celebrate Goddess Saraswati. The last day is celebrated as Vijayadasami Day which is believed to have the blessings of Goddess Saraswathi. Hence, children are first enrolled in schools on this day and new ventures are flagged off.
The common theme of the festival is the battle and victory of good over evil based on the regionally famous epic or legend such as the Ramayana or the Devi Mahatmya. People start preparing for the festival one or two months in advance. Houses are cleaned, whitewashed and decorated. Since it is famously called the ‘Festival of Dolls’ in Chennai, all the members of the family are busy doing their part for the celebrations.
The women bring home themed dolls, return gifts and pooja articles for the nine days while the men bring down the assembled Golu Padikattu (a broad and wide ladder), repaint it and fix it for the dolls to find their place on it. The excited children are busy running helter-skelter amidst all the confusion looking forward to the relatives and friends who would drop in to meet them during the festival.
Every evening, people visit houses of their relatives and friends to exchange invitations for Navaratri celebrations. In Tamil Nadu, Navaratri is characterised by various themed-dolls like the Ramayana, and Mahabharata. Sky is the limit for the artist’s imaginations. You can find a vividly portrayed Garuda Servai scene or a forest scene including wild animals, trees and hunters.
If you look back, you will realise that these nine days are about meeting and socialising with peers and friends. As there were no televisions, telephones or cell phones those days, this tradition was a good way to meet the near and dear ones. One of the exciting features of Navratri in Chennai is the act of bargaining, haggling and buying new dolls spread out on the streets of Mylapore, Mambalam and Mandaveli. The customers are extremely happy when they settle for a satisfied price and go home with the acquisitions which will be proudly displayed at home.