The glory of Durga
KOMAL UTSAV JAGAD on the Sydney celebration of Mahanavratri, a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga, the feminine principle of nature
Rosehill Racecourse in the west of Sydney was the venue for a rather unusual party in late September. The Hindu festival dedicated to the goddess Durga Mata, Maha Navratri, was organised here by the Sankalp team and Australian Indians Limited. In traditional manner, the mega folk dance fest Dandiya Dhoom was part of the celebrations, in which an entire community gets together to dance in veneration of Durga Mata.
In keeping with the distinctively inspirational theme of ‘Unity in diversity: A journey towards spirituality’, deity offerings, bhajans and pooja prayers were conducted with solemnity.
But the occasion was also about entertainment: essentially, all Hindu festivals are about celebrating life with friends, family and good food, and rejoicing in the good fortune that we have these elements in our life! A perfect blend of entertainment ensured every attendee at had something to look forward to and enjoy the Navratri celebration. A few steps in, and all the foodies had their mouths watering over the stalls catering samosas, chole batura, masala chai, besan ke laddus, kheer and jalebis. The belief that a pack of cards could present an insinuation about the future ensured the Tarot card reader never went unnoticed. Kids clasping “Jai Mata Di” scripted balloons (orange, white and green with Indian Flag theme) were thrilled to queue up for face painting, caricature and henna.
Neni Tiwary of AustralianIndians.com.au, who looked after operational support and marketing for the event, told Indian Link, “The event was a huge success with 3,500 tickets sold. The not-for-profit organisation Australian Indians supported the cause of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and for the first time an online sale took place on our website with a record of 1,300 tickets sold online. We propose to have this Maha Navratri celebrated annually every year”. He also added, “The event was the first of its kind in Sydney’s Indian community where priests from almost all the temples of Sydney including Pandit Samir, Pandit Ajaybhai, Pandit Jatinbhai, Pandit Acharya Raman Sharma, Gitanjali, Pandit Ravi Gurrukal and others came together to perform the maha yagna and Mata’s pooja.” Idols and posters of Goddess Durga, Goddess Mahalakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Hanuman, Ram, Lakshman and Sita added a glorious touch to the sacred air.
Festivity and colours symbolize India, and Maha Navratri was an evening full of life. There was a definite display of unity in diversity, with Indians as well as guests from other cultural backgrounds also present. Spectacular dances from India were presented on the occasion including Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Bhangra and a sensational Tandav with a live snake. A unique combination of dhol, bhangra and garba with traditional attire of chaniya choli and kurta-lungi reminded us again of the theme Anekta me Ekta (Unity in Diversity). The band Taal Yatra Dandiya Dhoom ensured dancers swayed to Garba and Dandiya rounds for over three hours.
“With 47,000 views on YouTube the event is certainly a big dhamaka today” said Mr Ketan Parmar, Coordinator and drummer, Taal Yatra Dandiya Dhoom. Bollywood singer Mohit Chauhan and the ‘fastest drummer in Hyderabad’, Kishore Parmar stole the limelight of the show.
An evening like this one would certainly remain incomplete without prizes. Lucky winners like Birva Patel, Divya Dhingra and Ashok Khilani won $5000 cash prize, $2000 cash prize and photo packages by Neelsh Kale respectively. Other prizes included an LCD TV, slow cooker, blender, tickets to Mohit Chauhan’s concert and Labh Janjua Live Bollywood Bash. Best dressed male and female were also awarded gifts.
Mrs. Gargi Tripathi, Chairperson and Director Sales and Marketing, Sankalp, said, “Maha Navratri is a lovely opportunity for devotees to make offerings to Mata and with the blessings of Mata the event was organized in just 15 days thanks to the support of all sponsors and volunteers like Value Travel World, Vision Asia, Connect TV, SBS Radio, Facebook, Google, Indian Link and YouTube amongst others”.
She also made a special mention of a photo exhibition called Sankaln organized for the occasion. “The photos are created by the Lalit Kala Akademi (India’s National Academy of Arts) award winning photographer Neelesh Kale. This exhibition is a photo study of how ‘Durga’ idols are created in Mumbai, India. Australian Indians Limited commissioned one of these idols to be made for our Maha Navratri Festival. The photo study covered from the initial stages of moulding the idols to the final stages of painting.”
This collection of photos shown at the Maha Navratri Festival are available for purchase, please enquire by emailing info@australianindians.com.au
Indians certainly love their large-scale melas, and with fairs already set in the community for Independence Day, Diwali and Holi, you can rest assured that Maha Navratri will become another main event in the annual social calendar.
This year’s inaugural event has brought a wave of energizing drive to the community at large – hold the fire until Diwali and watch the community light up again with colour!
