Glorious Navaratri at Princeton

The festival which enforces the victory of good over evil, started with pomp and show on 15 October at Princeton with the cooperation of condominium members, resident organisers, volunteers and many more.

The parking spaces between 3 B and 3C tower gates were vacated and decorated with a beautiful shining tent covering all three sides for about 2000 sqft. The area outside and inside the pandal was decorated with bright strings of colourful lights and banners. The majestic, graceful Durga Maa was seated on the Dias along with the images of the Lords Krishna and Ganesha!! 

The captain of the ship, Kamal Gulati was steering the rituals along with her crew of Kashika, Ruchika, Suman, Mona, Nidhi and Divya. It was a spectacular sight to see all the beautiful women attired according to the colour of the day and singing around Maa Durga in their utmost spirit. Many ‘Dhun’ and Bhajans were sung. Elders were seated on the edges of the pandal on the chairs and the youngsters were seated on the fluffy carpets in the middle part in front of the Goddess. The bold voice of Kashika, and many others echoed in the pandal with the rhythm of the tabla man hired for the purpose.

Every day till 23rd October the Pooja lasted for 3 hours between 4 -30 to 7 -30pm by chanting the divine names. Mrs Gulati would narrate appropriate small anecdotes associated with the Lords which even the kids listened to, very carefully. After ‘’ aarti and ‘’Bhog’ everyone was offered the Prasad of a sweet and a fruit… before dispersal. The remarkable feature, this year, was the huge number of members pouring into the pandal for participation.

The area outside the pandal was occupied by senior men, women and many more. The gathering amounted to 300 to 400 members along with children. The children were given interesting gifts of eatables. 

Twenty years back, on a small scale, Kamal Gulati along with Sharda Nangia, Taruna Gupta and Amita Bindal started the Navaratri Pooja when they took the possession of their flat in 2003. All these above-mentioned ladies were honoured with shawls for their continuous participation and devotion.

Each day a resident sponsored the flowers, fruits, coconut and Prasad and on the last day Bhandara was organised to feed everyone who came to worship the Goddess. The RWA members of PECA also contributed for the whole celebration. About 750 residents along with staff of the condominium enjoyed the delicious Prasad of Maa Durga and retired to their homes. 

My heart ached to realise that we all have to wait for an year for the next Navaratri.