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India is traditionally a peace loving nation who has never bothered to interfere, attack or occupy any other nation irrespective of whatever it had to go through.  History has proven this when various other nations occupied India for centuries and India has never gone one step to doing the same.

This is a traditional India. Post the new Mumbai Terror attack, something has changed vastly. Indians everywhere are thinking beyond their traditional ways now. The recent Mumbai attack is not the first one to be suffered by this city.

The first one that people took notice was Mar 12, 1993  serial blasts which was a series of 13 blasts at various places of the city leaving over 260 dead and more than 700 injured. This was masterminded by the famous Dawood Gang in retaliation for the Babri Masjid destruction.  The Bombay Stock Exchange building basement, Hotel Juhu Centaur, Grenades in Sahara Airport and more such news were flashing across the TV channels (very few of them back then).

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Kolu_6759

Originally uploaded by bratboy76

Ratri means “night” and Nava means “nine”. At Navaratri (“nine nights”), the Lord in the form of the Mother Goddess is worshipped in Her various forms as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Though the Goddess is one, She is represented and worshipped in three different aspects. On the first three nights of the festival, Durga is worshipped. On the following three, Lakshmi and then Saraswati Devi on the last three nights. The following tenth day is called Vijayadasami. Vijaya means “victory”, the victory over our own minds that can come only when we have worshipped these three: Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.

At Navaratri time, the Rasa dance (dance of joy) of Sri Krishna and the gopis is also performed. As the mind becomes purer, calmer quieter, and more cheerful and greater understanding is gained, do we not feel happier? Similarly, the Rasa dance is the dance of joy and realization. But, nowadays, the theme of Sri Krishna and the gopis dancing around the Rasa seems to have been lost in our society. The true meaning and purpose of the ritual is often forgotten, as more importance is given to other types of dancing.

Navrathri is a festival that brings color to our homes in these forms. Though we are not celebrating the 9 nights this year, it was quite a compulsion for me to capture these beautiful creations during the festival.

This is the current years addition – “Meenakshi Kalyanam”. The wedding of the Goddess Parvathi (“Meenakshi”) to the Lord Shiva(Right). Lord Vishnu(Left) is the bride’s brother.