Navarathiri; a womens’ journey

All the women from nearby will be there with their daughters. For weeks now each family has been busy with their preparations busily polishing a brass plate until it shines like a mirror. Making various colour powders from vegetable leaves and such. Black from dried curry leaves, red from powdered brick. Little white beads from cooked rice paste. With a light sticky gruel they have made kolams on the tray and stuck these rice beads to form the lines and borders. The spaced in between are filled with the coloured powders so painstakingly prepared. And this evening all the women congregate at the temple and offer these “painted prayers” to the Goddess there.

There they stand wearing their best clothes. Their dark shining tresses tightly tied back, Red kum-kum shining on their foreheads. Their daughters wear the little jewellery they possess. And, as the evening light fades fast to give way to the tropical night of gently swaying coconut trees and the hushing rustle of peepul leaves, oil lamps are lit and mothers and daughters now hold out the trays with both arms outstretched. Together they all rotate them in front of the shrine and pray for the future of their families and their children.

The scene is visual. But the smell of freshly broken coconuts, camphor and incense fills the air as do the fragrances from the jasmine and tulsi and kadambam garlands that adorn the shrine. Every woman has a small bunch of flowers tucked in her hair. The sounds of brass bells from the temple doors mingle with the soft chimes of silver bells on the little girls’ ankles.

After the pooja the girls are excitedly talking about the kolam competition to come the next day. Who will win this year? Will it again be the Mala and her mother from the next village? Everyone from nearby villages comes to see the kolams in the temple courtyard. The simple, white rice flour with the occasional dab of red from crushed brick pieces belie the complex patterns. Yellow flowers from pumpkin creepers are occasionally used to add a flash of colour.

Navarathiri is a women’s festival. It also reflects and perhaps helps develop an aesthetic sense that is essentially feminine. No crackers or boisterous processions here. Neither big feasts nor ostentation are part of this celebration. Each family decorates their home in simple fashion. An arrangement of dolls and ornaments forms a prayer area. Each evening women and their daughters visit their friends and neighbours and sit together in a ritual bonding that helps them remember who they are. They are the keepers of the hearth. They share a little sundal and a simple sweet. Sing songs for each other and pray for peace and tranquillity. Even the goddess of Navarathiri, Durga in the form of Mahishasuramardini, is the one who vanquishes the demon Mahisha who represents violence and evil.

There is a school of thought that suggests that these are the demons we face within ourselves. The worship is our endeavour to come face to face with the turmoil and conflict within each of us. For this we seek the grace of the goddess Durga. And in Her name the women gather to unconsciously reflect on their most basic social obligation. They keep the peace, raise the children and promote gentleness and maintain cultural memories.

In recent times Navarathiri has changed and transformed itself as it adapted to city life and urban development. Dolls were made and sold in markets. These were collected - some painted clay and others in tiny plastic forms.