The Kiwi-Indian community is currently under the complete grip of the festive season - especially with three festivals of Navratri, Bathukamma and Durga Pooja – all three festivals to honour Mother Goddess – lined up all around New Zealand.
October is a buoyant time in India, with receding hot weather and easing monsoons, and giving ample reasons to the people of India, to find reasons specific to their respective cultures for celebrations and merrymaking.
Indian-origin people all around the world, including in New Zealand have taken along with them these festivals, especially the sense of exuberance associated with these festivals.
Mother Goddess, in Hindu mythology, epitomises supreme power and is worshipped in the different part of the country in different forms, espousing different virtues.
Navratri, Durga Pooja and Bathukamma are three prominent festivals celebrated in honour of Mother Goddess, currently animating the minds and lives of the Indian community.
Social media is abuzz with people’s festive celebrations and participation in these festivals.
Here is a brief on what these festivals mean.
Navratri
Navaratri is a nine-night festival that celebrates the Mother Goddess or Shakti in all her manifestations, including Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Worship and fasting take place in the daytime, while the nights are reserved for feasting and dancing. The festival culminates with Dussehra, the victory of good over evil, on the tenth day.
Different celebratory forms associated with Navratri are popular such as Ramlila in North India, Golu in South India, however, nothing is as popular and world-renowned as Garba in Western-Northern-Central India.
Garba is a circular form of dance originated in Gujarat, traditionally performed by ladies during the nights of Navratri festival.
It is also known as Garbi, Garbha or Garbha Deep. In Garbha Deep, the word Garbha is a Sanskrit term, which means womb and ‘Deep’ means little earthen lamps. It is usually performed in a circle around a big lamp or the statue of Goddess Shakti.
Currently, many garba celebrations are going all around Auckland, but particularly in Mahatma Gandhi Centre, (Eden Terrace), North Shore and Howick where people are expected to come in large numbers to be part of collective celebrations.
Auckland Indian Association has been organising Garba event for more than a decade, which has seen numbers rising every year.
Bathukamma
Bathukamma is state festival of Telangana in South India. It is a flower festival that celebrates life and the Mother Goddess during Navaratri. It's devoted to Goddess Maha Gauri, an incarnation of Goddess Durga that's considered to be the life-giver and goddess of womanhood. She's worshipped in the form of Bathukamma, a floral arrangement stacked to resemble a temple tower. Women sing old folk devotional songs and take the Bathukammas out in procession to immerse them in the water on the last day.
Currently, people of Telangana are celebrating the nine-day festivals in different locations around Auckland such as Shri Shirdi Sai Baba temple, Northshore, Sandringham, Pakuranga, Papakura Ganesha Temple and many other places all around New Zealand.
Durga Pooja
Durga pooja is a festival in honour of Goddess Durga. In Bengal and the eastern part of India, beautifully handcrafted statues of Durga are installed in podiums in almost every lane of the city during this festival. People flock to the streets to view the goddess statues amid mesmerising light shows, drumming, and aromatic food stalls. On the last day of the festival, the statues are paraded around the city before being submerged in the river.
Probassee Bengali Association is celebrating 27th Probasee Sarbojonin Durga Puja 2018 in Onehunga, Auckland from October 19 – 22.
ISSUE
Leave a Comment