Beyond Garba and Glamour: What Navratri Teaches Us About the Strength Within?

 

Beyond Garba and Glamour: What Navratri Teaches Us About the Strength Within? 

We Indians believe that Goddess Durga has such immense power that no negativity can survive when she blesses us. No matter how overwhelming the negativity around us may be, her blessings give us the strength to overcome it when we pray with faith from within. Navratri is also a celebration that brings people together in a festive spirit, allowing them to participate wholeheartedly, forgetting the barriers of caste and religion. There is a beautiful secret of life hidden in this celebration: when you play Garba, you do not have to overthink every step, but you must be completely involved in the moment. Today, Garba is celebrated on a grand scale, with groups learning choreographed steps and performing together. Social media is filled with reels encouraging people to participate, and many even take leave from work to dedicate all nine days to the festivities. Glamour has also become a part of these celebrations, with commercial interests shaping Garba events at different venues. A festival that has evolved over time has taken on a new form, but it continues to hold an important place in our lives and celebrations.

According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga fought and defeated the shape-shifting buffalo demon Mahishasura after nine days of battle, restoring peace to the universe. Navratri is celebrated over nine days, with each day dedicated to a different form of Maa Durga, collectively known as Navdurga. These forms represent courage, purity and wisdom. The tenth day, celebrated as Dussehra, marks Lord Rama's victory over Ravana. One of the most beautiful aspects of this festival is the way it is celebrated differently across India. In western India, people participate in folk dances such as Garba and Raas. In eastern India, Durga Puja is celebrated with great devotion. In southern India, people arrange Golu displays and worship Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi, while in northern India, many observe fasts and read the Ramayana. Just imagine how much positivity this festival creates when people come together through faith, devotion and celebration!

Recently, through our JOSH Foundation, which supports children across 21 schools, we had children from one of the schools participate in a Garba competition organised by an organisation called Kala Gurjari. We had two groups participating: one comprising younger children and the other comprising young adults. These children were from a special school where Marathi is the medium of instruction. They practised for one and a half months, with 16 children in each group, coordinating their movements and performing beautiful dance steps to Gujarati songs, a language they do not hear as frequently. We were amazed to see their confidence. Wearing their customised digital hearing aids, they followed the music and coordinated their movements through listening, without gestures or prompting from anyone. Their dedication and preparation were truly inspiring.

We witnessed what felt like the blessings of Maa Durga in these children. When we talk about inclusivity, we believe in giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate and compete. We wanted these children to compete alongside their hearing peers without their hearing impairment becoming the focus of attention. What followed was beyond our imagination. They performed with remarkable confidence, enthusiasm and coordination, giving their best without looking at one another for cues. They celebrated the traditional songs of Maa Durga with courage, dedication and wisdom. They proved that when we focus on learning and approach something with sincerity and a pure heart, we can achieve what may once have seemed impossible. Maa Durga seemed to have showered her blessings of strength upon them. We, too, can discover this strength within ourselves if we approach life's challenges with the same determination and sincerity that these children demonstrated.

There was another important lesson to learn from the competition. All 34 children who participated came from different religious backgrounds, yet they coordinated so beautifully and worked together towards a common goal. They understood the spirit of the celebration through their performance, regardless of their individual backgrounds. Yet, as a society, we often fight over religion, behaving as though we all have separate territories that others must not cross without permission. We sometimes lose sight of what positivity and inner strength truly mean. We are fortunate to have festivals that bring people together and remind us of the blessings of Goddess Durga. Instead of allowing differences and disagreements to create divisions, we should learn to celebrate together, grow together and make this world a more beautiful place, just as these children showed us through their performance.

Recently, I also attended an international conference in India where professionals from different fields came together to discuss hearing impairment and ways to improve the lives of people with hearing difficulties. The participants included audiologists, ENT specialists, teachers of the deaf, social workers, organisations working in the field of hearing disability, parents of children with hearing impairment and some children with hearing impairment themselves. We discussed different ways of creating awareness and developing modules to improve access and opportunities for people with hearing difficulties. Discussions included various communication approaches, such as sign language, cued speech, lip-reading, auditory-verbal therapy and total communication. With 27 countries participating, the discussions highlighted the importance of making communication accessible to the diverse hearing-impaired community, recognising that one approach may not meet everyone's needs.

However, after witnessing the Garba performance by these 34 children, we were reminded of the strength and potential that every individual possesses. When children with hearing impairment receive the right technology, appropriate hearing rehabilitation and acceptance in mainstream society, so many possibilities open up for them. Nothing should be considered impossible simply because a child has a hearing difficulty. We all need to come forward to remove myths and misconceptions in every aspect of life. Every child, whether with or without hearing impairment, has the potential to face and overcome life's challenges when given the right opportunities and support. We just have to have faith in God and believe in ourselves. My humble request is that we take a moment to sit back, connect with ourselves and pray to Goddess Durga to show us the ultimate strength of positivity in our lives.

I read in a book that we have five senses: skin, tongue, nose, eyes and ears. We also have five organs of action that help us perform different activities, including speaking, using our hands and legs, and the functions of our excretory and reproductive organs. Our five senses allow us to experience the world through touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. Nature, too, is described through five elements essential to our existence: sky, air, fire, water and earth. The book also explains that a king does not go to war first; his soldiers fight on his behalf. However, if they lose, the defeat ultimately reflects on the king and his leadership. In the same way, nature and our environment influence everything around us, but it is up to us to decide how we use our inner strength to face life's challenges. We can either get carried away by the glamour of the world or pause to understand and appreciate the blessings of Maa Durga. The choice lies within us.