The Hindu Celebrations Begin

The Hindus traditionally observe a "Pitrapaksh" or "Mahalaya"- a fortnight long period of remembrance of one's forefathers - which ends on 22 Sep 06.

On 23 Sep 06, Navratra starts. This also marks the beginning of Dussehara.

Navratra is a festival of worship, dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights. It is celebrated from first to ninth of Ashwin Shukla Paksh of the Hindu calendar. These nine days are divided into sets of three for the worship of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.

On the first day of Navratra, first incarnation of goddess Durga called "Shailputry" is worshipped. The goddess got her name from her birth place which is considered to be in Himalayas.

Navratra celebrations are a beautiful mix of power with devotion. It normally include prayers in the morning, and community gatherings in the evenings at pre-designated places generally spent in singing, dancing, and making new friends and acquaintances.

Though regional variations do exist, but the underlying idea remains same.

Among the prominent regional variations - Durga Puja in Bengal region, Garba is Gujrat- Maharastra and Dussehra North-Cental parts of India are the different forms.