Goddess Durga is very special to me, I love to visit her temples, read her stories and listen to songs devoted to her. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit the workshops in Chitaroli (Nagpur) to see the preparations for the upcoming festivities celebrating my favorite deity. These are the same workshops where I saw the Lord Ganesh idols being made for Ganesh Chathurthi. Those amazing elephant headed idols have returned to clay at the bottom of the lakes of Nagpur, and now it’s time for Goddess Durga to take form... Navratri (nine divine nights) begins this week, a festival dedicated to worshiping the nine divine forms of Goddess Durga: 1st day: Shailputri is mother nature herself. The Goddess rides a bull, has a half-moon on her forehead, a trident in her right hand and a lotus in her left. She is also known as Parvati or Sati. 2nd day: Brahmachaarini is the personification of love and loyalty, she carries mala beads (a rosary) in one hand and a kamandalu (a pot) in the other. This form of Goddess Durga performs great penance in the name of love. 3rd day: Chandraghantaa rides a tiger and is responsible justice and dharma (righteousness) in the world. She has golden skin and ten arms, one of her hands holds a bell [...]
