Navratri Celebration At Apex Athena

by Tanya Aggarwal

Five days of Navratri were celebrated as Durga Puja at Apex Athena from 1st October to 5th October 2022.The event was full of Grand Celebrations comprising of Cultural Events conducted by residents, Professional Artists, DJ Bands, Devotional Singers in Mata ki Chowki followed by Dandia Night conducted by professionals. Multiple stalls were also arranged, from food to accessories, which saw active participation of the residents as well. The RWA of Apex Athena really out-did themselves in arranging the best Durga Puja celebration that the society has ever witnessed. An elaborately decorated pandal was erected at the central park with a grand clay statue of Maa Durga on the afternoon of 1st October. The idol was brought in with lot of enthusiasm and cheer and was placed at the pandal with matra chanting and bhajan. The residents offered their prayers and celebrated the arrival of the idol! To commence the festivity, the evening was accessorised by a kid’s dance and singing program where children from the society participated and uplifted everyone’s spirit of devotion.
The pandal was beautifully decorated everyday with a different flowers and the residents use to offer prayer every morning and evening. An instrumental and musical night was held on 2nd October which was hosted by the renowned Laughter Challenge participant – Mr. Pradeep Pallavi, where the society residents went in for singingsweet songs, both old and new making the evening as lively as possible. The evening of third day witnessed Mata ki Chawki. Alongwith professional singers, the female residents enthusiastically participated in singing Mata ke bhajan to seek the Goddess’ blessings. The festivities were rounded up on 4th October with an open-air Dandia night which was hosted by the IIFA Awards DJ Sumit Sethi. All the residents came dressed in traditional attires to show off their gabra and dance skills. The professional dance troops also gave colourful cultural performances wearing vibrant, traditional attires. They were accompanied by the residents of society who performed in circles to the beat of drums and songs. The RWA had also arranged for a delicious bhandara on the day of dandia night for all the residents of the society. Finally, on 5th October Maa Durga’s idol was taken for murti visarjan and every bid adieu to the Goddess praying for her arrival again next year! The evening of 5th also witnessed Ravana Dehan where an effigy of The King of Lanka, Ravana was burnt after narrating the story of Ramayana in brief – that good always triumphs over evil.