By Radhika Nair
The festive season has kicked in and the beaming Durga Pooja has illuminated the streets as her devotees celebrate the festival performing different rituals and practices. It is a common perception to believe that Durga pooja is elaborately and massively celebrated by Bengalis, but the entire nation chants and joyously celebrates the Durga Pooja in their own unique way, which spreads and shines from state to state.
Let's take a took at the top 5 states of India which adores her holyness by engraving their prayers to seek blessings and prosperity.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
One of the most common and religious practice of feeding young girls during the final days of the festival, offering special worship in the holy temples of elegant Durga idols for long hours, and other similar traditions are closely observed in both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The key highlight of this state is how the locals set a temporary altar of the deity and recite the scripture Durga Saptashat
Tamil Nadu
Tamilians workship the three powerful goddesses of Durga, Saraswati, and Lakshi as per their deity rituals during the last three days.
The key highlight of this state is the celebration of Golu, quite an interesting ritual where young women and children display dolls on a small wooden pavilion that has been passed down from one generation to another.
Gujarat
Celebrating with pomp and music, in Gujarat Durga Pooja marks a divine date where people observe fasts in great admiration, install heavy decorations, and have group gatherings as the cities turn festive.
Key highlights of this state is people invite Ahmedabad based singers who sing Rabindra Sangeet in Gujarati and an auspicious evening aarti using a Garbi, an earthen pot and diyas.
Andhra Pradesh
During the Navratri, women in Andhra Pradesh get ready to seek blessings for conjugal bliss. Unmarried girls offer their prayers to the sacred Mother Gauri and this ritual which has been passed down from eons is called Bathukamma Panduga in the Tamil language which means “Mother Goddess, Come Alive!”
The key highlight in this state is where women create flower stacks in time-honored style using local flowers for Mother Devine and on the final day, the stack is immersed into a lake or river.
