The nine-day festival of Chaitra Navratri concluded with Ram Navami, which was celebrated with fervour on Saturday. From ‘kanya pujan’ to ‘havan’, people celebrated the birth of Lord Rama. Thousands of devotees thronged temples of Lord Rama in the city to mark the occasion. Major celebrations took place in Lord Ram’s temple in Vaishali Nagar, Geeta Bhawan, ISKCON temple, Khajrana, Chaupan Dham temple in Vijanagar, Hari Ram temple in Rajmohalla, Ranjeet Hanuman temple and many others.
Beginning the day by decorating their houses with flowers and traditional ‘mandana’, women and men worked together for preparations. However, children specially girls enjoyed the sumptuous traditional platter of ‘puri’, ‘sabzi’, ‘halwa’ and ‘kheer’. Sharing her experience and representing a group of girls, Sannya Chhabra said, “It is nice to be invited as I love the traditional food but it is too much when we are forced to eat all of it everywhere on the same day.”
“Every little girl, especially a daughter has a way to charm the house with her positive energy and charismatic smile,” newlywed Neha Adwani said. She prayed to have a daughter. Talking about festival, homemaker Richa Tiwari said, “We always have grand celebrations as most of us fast in the house.” She explained that fasting is a traditional way to prepare bodies for the changing season. “This year, since I have a newborn, I did not fast but every celebration is more special as I have my little angel (daughter) Adheera with me this year,” Richa said.
