NAVRATRI  SYMBOLISE  FEMINISM

Navratri is observed as the goddess worship- the divine feminine- who is viewed as the central of existence. It tells us how women can conquer demons which the best of men couldn’t . Of how applying sringaar isn’t sign of weakness. Durga wears her femininity with pride, even while she is locked in a bloody battle with demons.

Potential in every women- feminism discovered and celebrated through Navratri, the nine days for nine moods, the nine emotions, the nine shades of women, ranging from mild to wild, from compassion to retribution, from love to war. The mild mannered Lakshmi, the quick witted Saraswati , the bloodthirsty Kali are all various forms/avtars of women. Here, the goddess are  not a symbolic resource but as potential in every women.

Defeating the inequalities – the goddess Durga is the Adi Shakti, form from the combined energies of the male gods, aggressive, striding on the lion of misogyny patriarchy, and going beyond subversive gender roles and narratives like caste and class. She is the warrior goddess combating evils -the asura Mahishasur – who symbolically represents the dark forces. She displays the protective mother goddess who can do anything to empower life and creation through distruction. The fight is about the good over evil, justice over the injustice of bias and exploitation: all forms of inequalities faced by women in society.

The power of choice- the element of choice and freedom every women entitled to have: goddess Parvati when she created a child from her own, without the man, the goddess  Saraswati who prefers to remain childless in her higher goal for knowledge and learning, the goddess Ganga with her power of plenty to nurture, the goddess Sati wielding her power of choice to choose her man to love and marry and to die for pride and dignity. Power of all the other emotions and experiences of the women are acknowledged and recognized. It not just show the worship but the recognition and celebration. Every women in  the society have the potential to invoke the power in us.