One Goddess, Many Celebrations: How Navratri Is Celebrated Across India

Same nine nights, a hundred different moods

Ask someone from Ahmedabad what Navratri is, and they will probably start talking about Garba. Ask someone from Kolkata, and they will tell you about pandal-hopping, dhunuchi dances and the ache of watching the goddess leave on Dashami. A family in Chennai will describe their step-by-step display of dolls. A friend from Hyderabad will light up describing towers of flowers. Someone from Delhi will mention the Ramlila and the giant effigies of Ravana that burn on Dussehra.

They are all describing the same festival. And they are all right.

This is one of the most remarkable things about Navratri. A single span of nine nights, honouring the Divine Mother and the victory of good over evil, has blossomed into completely different traditions across India's states, languages and communities. Some regions focus on dance, some on elaborate worship, some on dolls, flowers, theatre, royal processions or learning. Beneath all of it runs the same devotion.

In this article, we travel across the country, region by region, to see how Navratri is lived. It pairs with our guide to the nine forms of Durga, which explains the goddess worshipped on each night, and with The Stories Behind Navratri, which explains why the festival exists at all.

Gujarat: where the whole state dances

If there is one image the world associates with Navratri, it is probably Garba. For nine nights, Gujarat simply does not sleep. Villages, city societies, school grounds and enormous stadium-sized venues fill with people dancing in great circles until well past midnight.

What Garba actually is

The word Garba comes from garbha, meaning womb, and from garbo, an earthen pot with holes pierced in it and a lamp placed inside. Traditionally the garbo was placed at the centre of the dance space, its flickering light symbolising the divine life within the womb, the goddess's energy contained in the body. Dancers move in circles around it.

The circle is not decoration. It reflects the Hindu view of time as cyclical, birth, death and rebirth turning endlessly around the unchanging divine at the centre. When thousands of people move in concentric rings around a single lamp, they are, consciously or not, enacting a picture of the universe. In December 2023, UNESCO recognised the Garba of Gujarat on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Garba steps vary from simple two-clap and three-clap patterns that anyone can learn in ten minutes, to elaborate regional forms. Women traditionally wear the chaniya choli, a flared embroidered skirt with a backless or mirror-worked blouse and a dupatta, while men wear the kediyu, a short flared top, with dhoti or churidar. Mirror work, oxidised silver jewellery and bright colours make the circles shimmer under the lights.

Dandiya Raas

Dandiya Raas is Garba's close cousin, usually danced later in the night. Dancers hold a pair of decorated sticks, the dandiya, and strike them rhythmically against their partner's sticks as two lines move past each other. Many people connect the sticks to the goddess's sword in her battle with Mahishasura, and the dance to the playful raas of Krishna with the gopis of Vrindavan.

Not just a party

It is easy, from the outside, to see Navratri in Gujarat as one huge dance party. It is joyful, yes. But in traditional settings, the night begins with aarti to Amba Maa, and the songs, the garba geet, are devotional hymns praising the goddess in her many forms. Neighbourhood garbas are where grandparents dance next to toddlers, and where young people from every caste and background share the same circle. The dance is the worship.

Many families also observe the nine days at home with Ghatasthapana, fasting and daily puja. Our step-by-step puja guide covers the home rituals, and the fasting guide covers the food that keeps dancers going until midnight.

West Bengal: Durga Puja, the homecoming of a daughter

Travel east and the festival's emotional colour changes completely. In Bengal, the goddess is not only the cosmic warrior. She is also Uma, a married daughter coming home to her parents' house for a few precious days each year, bringing her children with her: Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya.

That single idea, the daughter coming home, explains almost everything about how Bengalis feel during Durga Puja. The joy of arrival. The feasting. The new clothes. And the real, unashamed tears when she leaves.

Mahalaya: the countdown begins

For most Bengalis, the festival begins in the pre-dawn darkness of Mahalaya, about a week before the main puja days. Mahalaya marks the end of Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of remembering ancestors, and the beginning of Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the goddess. Many families wake before 4 a.m. to listen to Mahishasura Mardini, the legendary radio programme of chants and songs narrated in Birendra Krishna Bhadra's unforgettable voice. It has been broadcast by All India Radio for generations, and for many families, Durga Puja does not feel like it has started until they have heard it.

Mahalaya is also traditionally the day when artisans paint the eyes of the Durga idols, a ritual called chokkhu daan, "the gift of eyes."

Kumartuli and the pandals

In the narrow lanes of Kumartuli in north Kolkata, families of potters and artisans spend months shaping Durga idols from straw, bamboo and clay, including, according to custom, a little soil collected from outside the homes of sex workers, a tradition often interpreted as a reminder that the goddess belongs to every part of society.

Those idols then travel to thousands of pandals, temporary temple structures that range from traditional to astonishingly creative. Themed pandals in Kolkata have replicated famous temples and palaces, addressed social issues and turned entire streets into art installations. Pandal-hopping, walking from one to the next late into the night, eating street food and admiring the craft, is a ritual in itself. In 2021, UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The main days

The main festival runs from Shashthi (the sixth day) to Dashami (the tenth). Each day has its own character.

• Shashthi: The goddess is formally welcomed with the Bodhon, the awakening ritual, and her face is unveiled.
• Saptami: At dawn, a banana plant dressed as a bride, the Kola Bou or Nabapatrika, is bathed in a river and installed beside Ganesha. It represents nine plants and the goddess in her nature form.
• Ashtami: The most important day for many. Thousands gather for the morning pushpanjali, offering flowers to the goddess with Sanskrit mantras. In the evening comes the Sandhi Puja, performed in the precise junction of Ashtami and Navami, with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses.
• Navami: Grand bhog is served. Khichuri, labra (mixed vegetable), payesh and fried vegetables are shared with everyone who comes.
• Dashami: The farewell. Married women perform Sindoor Khela, smearing vermilion on the goddess and on each other's faces, wishing each other long and happy married lives. Then the idols are carried in procession for immersion, accompanied by drums, dancing and the cry "Asche bochor abar hobe!" ("It will happen again next year!").

Throughout, the dhaak drums beat relentlessly, and in the evenings people perform the dhunuchi naach, dancing with clay incense burners full of smouldering coconut husk and camphor.

The tender meaning behind the festivities

What makes Bengali Durga Puja so moving is that it holds two feelings at once. On one level it is the triumphant story of the goddess slaying Mahishasura, the story told in the Durga Saptashati. On another, it is a deeply human story of a mother waiting all year for her daughter to visit, and of a daughter who must always leave again. That is why the joy is so loud, and why Dashami is so quiet.

Odisha, Assam, Bihar and the wider East

The Durga Puja tradition extends well beyond Bengal.

In Odisha, Durga Puja is celebrated grandly in Cuttack, famous for its exquisite silver filigree decorations (chandi medha) and gold ornaments adorning the goddess in many pandals. The state's Shakti temples, among them Maa Tarini and Maa Mangala, draw large crowds.

In Assam, Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals of the year, and the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, one of the most important Shakti Peethas in India, holds its own elaborate Navratri worship.

In Bihar and Jharkhand, especially in cities like Patna and Ranchi, Durga Puja pandals are a major attraction, combined with home observances of Kalash Sthapana and fasting. In Tripura, the tradition continues with strong Bengali influence, and the royal Durga Bari temple in Agartala keeps centuries-old rituals alive.

Tamil Nadu: the quiet magic of Golu

In Tamil homes, Navratri arrives not with drums but with dolls. Golu, also called Bommai Kolu, is a display of figurines arranged on an odd number of steps, usually three, five, seven, nine or eleven, covered in white or coloured cloth.

The arrangement follows a loose but meaningful order. The lower steps typically show ordinary life: wedding scenes, vegetable sellers, musicians, schools, cricket matches and, in many modern homes, everything from the Chandrayaan mission to scenes from favourite films. As you go up, the figures become saints, sages and great devotees, then avatars of Vishnu, and at the very top, the gods and goddesses, often with the kalash representing the Devi. The steps are read as a ladder of evolution, from the material world towards the divine.

The tradition is lovingly passed down through generations. Many families still own dolls that belonged to a great-grandmother, and every bride traditionally brings a few new dolls to her marital home, often a pair called Marapachi dolls, carved from red sandalwood.

In the evenings, women and girls go from house to house visiting each other's Golu. Hosts welcome guests with sundal, a spiced dish of boiled chickpeas or other legumes, a different variety each day, and send them home with a small gift of thamboolam: betel leaves, nuts, turmeric, kumkum, a blouse piece or small token. Children are often encouraged to sing a song or recite a shloka before the Golu. It is a festival of hospitality, conversation and community as much as worship.

Following the classic three-part framework, the first three days are typically dedicated to Durga, the middle three to Lakshmi and the last three to Saraswati, a structure explained further in our guide to Navadurga.

Similar doll displays appear in Karnataka (Gombe Habba) and Andhra Pradesh (Bommala Koluvu), each with their own regional touches.

Karnataka: the royal Dasara of Mysuru

Few Navratri celebrations anywhere carry the grandeur of Mysuru Dasara, recognised as Karnataka's state festival, the Nada Habba. Its royal celebration is widely traced to 1610, when Raja Wodeyar I of Mysore began observing the festival in the tradition of the Vijayanagara kings, who had celebrated Mahanavami with legendary splendour in their capital at Hampi.

For ten days the Mysuru Palace is lit up each evening by close to a hundred thousand bulbs, turning it into a glowing outline against the night sky. Cultural programmes, music, dance, wrestling competitions, food festivals and exhibitions fill the city. The goddess at the heart of it all is Chamundeshwari, the form of Durga who slew Mahishasura, and whose temple sits on Chamundi Hill above the city. Local tradition holds that the very name Mysuru comes from Mahishuru, the town of Mahishasura.

On Vijayadashami comes the climax, the Jamboo Savari, a spectacular procession through the city. Decorated elephants lead it, and the lead elephant carries a golden howdah bearing the idol of Chamundeshwari. Tableaux, folk dancers, bands and mounted police follow, while hundreds of thousands of people line the route. The evening ends with the torchlight parade, Panjina Kavayatthu.

Ayudha Puja: honouring the tools of our lives

Across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the ninth day is also celebrated as Ayudha Puja, the worship of instruments. Originally a day when warriors honoured their weapons, it has grown to include every tool by which people earn their living. Mechanics wash and decorate their vehicles. Carpenters lay out their chisels. Students place their books and pens before the goddess. Musicians honour their instruments, and today plenty of people place their laptops and phones on the altar with a dot of kumkum.

It is a beautiful idea. The work of our hands is sacred, and the tools that make it possible deserve gratitude.

Kerala: the festival of learning

In Kerala, Navratri is above all a festival of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. On Durgashtami, books, instruments and tools are placed before the goddess in a ritual called Pooja Veppu, and many families stop studying for a day or two, letting the goddess hold their learning.

On Vijayadashami morning, the books are taken back in Pooja Eduppu, and then comes one of the sweetest rituals in all of Hinduism: Vidyarambham. Young children, usually between two and five years old, are initiated into the world of letters. A priest, teacher, writer or elder holds the child's finger and helps them trace Om Hari Sri Ganapataye Namah in a plate of rice grains, and writes the same words on the child's tongue with a gold ring. Temples such as the Saraswati temple at Panachikkad near Kottayam, and the Thunchan Parambu in Malappuram, the birthplace of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, draw thousands of families for the ceremony.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Bathukamma, a festival of flowers

In Telangana, the Navratri period is the season of Bathukamma, the state festival and one of the most colourful flower celebrations in India. The name means "Come alive, Mother Goddess" and the festival honours Gauri in the form of a beautiful cone-shaped stack of seasonal flowers, arranged in concentric layers on a brass plate. Marigold, celosia, tangedu (Senna auriculata) and many local wildflowers are used, many of them with medicinal properties.

Every evening for nine days, women gather in courtyards and open spaces, place their Bathukammas in the centre, and sing and dance in circles around them, clapping in rhythm to songs passed down through generations. On the final day, Saddula Bathukamma, the largest stacks are made, and in the evening they are floated on lakes and ponds, a sight that turns the water into rivers of colour.

Bathukamma is especially loved because it is a women's festival, rooted in village life, and a celebration of nature itself. It pairs naturally with Dasara celebrations in the region, including Durga worship at the famous Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri hill in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

North India: Ramlila and the burning of Ravana

In much of North India, the nine nights of Navratri are inseparable from the story of Lord Rama. Night after night, in towns, villages and city parks, local troupes perform the Ramlila, a dramatic retelling of the Ramayana, often based on Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas.

Ramlila is gloriously local. The actors are often neighbours, shopkeepers and schoolteachers, and the young boy playing Hanuman might be the same one who delivers your newspaper. Costumes are bright, the dialogue is delivered at full volume, and the audience, wrapped in shawls on chilly evenings, knows every scene by heart yet still gasps at Sita's abduction and cheers when Hanuman sets Lanka ablaze. UNESCO recognised the Ramlila tradition as part of humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

The most famous of all is the Ramlila of Ramnagar, near Varanasi. Patronised for generations by the Maharajas of Banaras, it runs for about a month and moves across the town itself, with different neighbourhoods serving as Ayodhya, the forest, Lanka and so on. The audience walks with the actors from one location to the next. There are no microphones and very little electric light. It is a living piece of history.

On Dussehra, Vijayadashami, the story reaches its climax. Towering effigies of Ravana, often with his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad, are set alight at dusk, packed with firecrackers that explode in great bursts of colour. Children sit on their fathers' shoulders to watch. The symbolism is simple and powerful: however tall evil grows, it eventually burns.

Why does a festival of the Goddess end with the victory of Rama? According to a popular tradition, Rama worshipped Durga before his final battle with Ravana, an episode known as Akal Bodhan, the untimely awakening. We tell that story, along with the story of Mahishasura, in The Stories Behind Navratri.

At the same time, homes across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar observe Navratri with Kalash Sthapana, fasting, Durga Saptashati recitation, jagratas, all-night devotional singing, and Kanya Puja on Ashtami or Navami.

Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Dussehra

Here is a delightful twist. In the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, the great Dussehra celebration only begins on Vijayadashami, the day the rest of the country is finishing.

The Kullu Dussehra is centred on Lord Raghunath, a form of Rama, whose idol is brought to the Dhalpur maidan in a grand chariot procession. Hundreds of local village deities are carried in decorated palanquins from across the valley to pay their respects, accompanied by drums, trumpets and folk musicians. For a week, the maidan becomes a vibrant fair of music, trade, handicrafts and the Kullu nati folk dance. There is no burning of Ravana effigies here. Instead, the festival is a gathering of the gods of the valley.

Jammu: the pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi

For many devotees in the north, Navratri means a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi, the cave shrine in the Trikuta hills of Jammu, where the goddess is worshipped in the form of three natural rock formations, the pindis, representing Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati. Navratri is one of the busiest times of the year at the shrine, and the town of Katra comes alive with pilgrims chanting "Jai Mata Di" on the climb. The same chant echoes in jagratas and Navratri gatherings across Punjab and Delhi.

Maharashtra: Ghatasthapana, Bhondla and the nine colours

Maharashtra observes Navratri with deep devotion to its own great goddesses, among them Tulja Bhavani of Tuljapur, the family deity of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Ambabai (Mahalakshmi) of Kolhapur, Renuka of Mahur and Saptashrungi of Vani. Pilgrimages to these temples swell during the nine days.

At home, Ghatasthapana is performed with great care, often with a garland of flowers added each day above the ghat. In many areas, girls celebrate Bhondla (also called Hadga in Marathwada and Bhulabai in Vidarbha), dancing in circles around a picture of an elephant drawn on the ground and singing traditional songs, before guessing the hidden snack (khirapat) brought by the host. The custom of wearing a specified colour each day of Navratri, now popular across India, became especially widespread in Maharashtra, where offices, local trains and colleges fill with matching shades.

And of course, Garba and Dandiya are now hugely popular in Mumbai, with some of the biggest Navratri events in the country.

Chhattisgarh: the 75-day Bastar Dussehra

If you think nine days is long, consider the Bastar Dussehra in Chhattisgarh, widely described as one of the longest festivals in the world at around 75 days. It has almost nothing to do with Rama or Ravana. Instead, it is dedicated to Danteshwari Mata, the presiding goddess of Bastar, and is shaped by the region's tribal communities.

Hundreds of local deities are brought in from surrounding villages. A massive wooden chariot, built anew each year by specific communities using traditional methods, is pulled through Jagdalpur. Rituals such as Kachhan Gadi, in which a young girl is believed to receive the goddess's permission to begin the festival, and the Muria Darbar, a gathering where tribal leaders historically met the ruler to discuss community matters, show how deeply woven the festival is into Bastar's social life.

Beyond India: Navratri in the diaspora

Today, Navratri is celebrated wherever Indians have settled. Leicester and London host enormous Garba nights. New Jersey, Houston, Toronto and Chicago see stadium-sized Dandiya events that draw tens of thousands. Durga Puja pandals rise in community halls across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and the Gulf. In Nepal, the same period is celebrated as Dashain, the country's biggest festival, when elders place tika and sprouted barley called jamara on the foreheads of younger family members as a blessing.

For many families abroad, these events are less about spectacle and more about belonging. They are the nights when children who grew up speaking English at school learn the steps their grandparents danced and the songs their grandmothers sang.

A quick map of Navratri traditions

What unites all of these celebrations

Read through this list and it can feel like a dozen different festivals. Look a little closer and the same threads appear everywhere.

The Mother is at the centre. Whether she is Amba in Gujarat, Uma in Bengal, Chamundeshwari in Mysuru, Saraswati in Kerala, Gauri in Telangana or Danteshwari in Bastar, every one of these traditions honours the Divine Feminine as the source of power, protection, abundance and wisdom.

Good triumphs over evil. Mahishasura falls to Durga. Ravana falls to Rama. The burning effigies, the immersion processions and the triumphant Vijayadashami all repeat the same promise: darkness is real, but it does not win.

The circle keeps returning. Garba dancers move in circles. Bathukamma singers move in circles. Bhondla is danced in circles. Dhunuchi dancers spin. Even the Golu steps form a kind of spiral from the earthly to the divine. The circle is perhaps the most ancient picture of cyclical time, and of the community gathered around something sacred at its centre.

Learning and work are sacred. Ayudha Puja, Saraswati Puja and Vidyarambham all insist that our tools, books, instruments and work belong in the presence of the divine.

Community comes first. Almost every one of these traditions depends on other people. You cannot do Garba alone. You visit other homes to see their Golu. Ramlila needs a whole town. Durga Puja pandals are built by neighbourhood committees. Navratri is a festival that pulls people out of their homes and into each other's lives.

If you are visiting a celebration for the first time

Navratri events are generally warm and welcoming to newcomers, including people of other faiths. A few small courtesies go a long way.

• Dress modestly and festively. Traditional Indian clothing is always appreciated, but clean, modest clothes are perfectly acceptable. Avoid black at some traditional Garba venues and puja spaces, where it is considered inauspicious.
• Remove your shoes before entering any puja area, pandal sanctum or home altar.
• Join in, but follow the circle. At Garba, simply watch for a minute, then join the outermost, slowest ring. People will happily show you the steps.
• Accept prasad with your right hand, or both hands together, and eat it rather than throwing it away.
• Ask before photographing rituals, idols and people, especially during intimate moments like Sindoor Khela or Kanya Puja.
• Be mindful of food customs. Many people are fasting. Avoid bringing meat, eggs or alcohol to Navratri gatherings or homes.
• Respect the immersion. If you join a visarjan procession, follow local guidance and stay safely back from the water.

The festival that fits everyone

There is a reason Navratri has survived and flourished across so many languages, landscapes and centuries. It is generous. It can be a solemn nine-day fast or a wild night of dancing. It can be a quiet lamp in a city apartment or a royal procession of elephants. It can be a grandmother's dolls, a child's first letters, a stack of wildflowers on a lake, or a burning Ravana lighting up a winter sky.

Wherever you are and however your family celebrates, you are part of something enormous and ancient. And if you have never experienced a tradition from another part of India, this might be the year to visit a friend's Golu, try a Garba night, or stand in a pandal at dawn on Ashtami. The goddess has many homes. You are welcome in all of them.

Continue the Navratri series on HinduAI

• Nine Nights, Nine Faces of the Mother: A Guide to Navadurga
• Navratri Puja Vidhi at Home: A Calm, Step-by-Step Guide
• Fasting During Navratri: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and How to Stay Well
• Mahishasura, Rama and the Meaning of Victory: The Stories Behind Navratri

Curious about a tradition from your own region that we have not covered, or the meaning of a song your family sings? Ask HinduAI.

Jai Mata Di, and happy Navratri, wherever and however you celebrate.

Abhishek Rai

Founder, HinduAI

Abhishek Rai is the founder of HinduAI, a spiritual AI platform created to make Hindu wisdom more accessible for modern seekers.

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