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5,000-10,000 people convene on each of the festival's nine nights
September 30, 2008
It's 11 pm on Saturday night. The family has just left the nearby Prathamesh Dandiya in Borivali, one of Mumbai's famed Navratri hotspots, where 5,000-10,000 people convene each of the festival's nine nights to 'play', as they say in the local parlance.
Every other year, relatives in Gujarat purchase new costumes for the family and bring them down to Mumbai for Navratri. Since 2008 is an off year, conversation between Nandini and her sisters has already turned to what costumes they'll order in 2009: "Did you see what Aarti was wearing?" "Yeah, but I really want one like Neha's. It was rocking!"
Navratri tunes on your mobile!
Such is the excitement for Navratri that even in the middle of all the celebrations, plans are being made for next year.
The festival celebrates the nine different forms of the divine goddess Shakti, whose manifestations include Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga. During the festival, each of Shakti's nine forms is worshipped for a full night, hence the name 'Navratri' ('nav' meaning nine and 'ratri' meaning night).
Also see: Tying the knot? Here's a wedding checklist!
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