Social Traditions: Navratri – A Story of Faith and Change
In India, festivals aren’t just dates on the calendar; they are the soul of our culture, our relationships, and our social traditions. And when it comes to Navratri, it’s not just nine days of worship, but a vibrant celebration of women’s empowerment, faith, and family coming together. But what happens when these traditions are confronted with new questions from a new generation?
This is the story of Pandit Rambharose’s family, and the Navratri that gave new meaning to his home’s oldest tradition.
Pandit Rambharose was the most respected person in his neighborhood. Navratri was celebrated in his home with great pomp and strict rules. For nine days, only fruits were cooked, Durga Saptashati was recited daily, and on Ashtami, nine girls were worshipped, considered incarnations of the goddess, whose feet were washed and they were fed.
This is the story of Panditji, his daughter-in-law, Vidha, and his granddaughter, eight-year-old Riya.
Vidha was an educated and modern-minded woman. Like her mother-in-law, she followed every tradition with complete devotion, but she had some questions. She was always puzzled by the question: why are only girls worshipped during ‘Kanya Pujan’? Why not boys? Is the essence of the Goddess only in daughters?
This year, a few days before Navratri, an incident occurred that deepened Vidha’s questions.
A poor rickshaw puller in the neighborhood died suddenly. He left behind his wife and two young children—an eight-year-old daughter, Pari, and a six-year-old son, Kanha.
Vidha saw how the woman worked day and night to feed her two children. She saw how little Kanha took his sister Pari by the hand and took her to school, and how Pari did odd jobs after her studies to help her mother. The two siblings shared an unwavering love and respect for each other.
Navratri began. The usual rituals began at Panditji’s house. On the eighth day, as Vidha was preparing for the Kanya Pujan, her daughter Riya asked an innocent question.
“Mom, this time we’ll invite Pari to the Kanya Pujan, right?”
“Yes, dear, of course,” Vidha said.
“So, can we invite Kanha too?” Riya asked. “He’s a good child, just like Pari.”
Vidha had no answer to her daughter’s question.
She mustered up the courage to ask her father-in-law, Pandit Rambharoseji. “Babuji, can we also worship a boy along with the girls this year? Riya wants Kanha to come too.”
Panditji’s face hardened. “What are you saying, daughter-in-law? This is a social tradition, not a game. Only girls are worshipped in Kanya Pujan. This is against the scriptures. It would be a bad omen.”
“But Babuji,” Vidha said politely, “the scriptures also say that God resides in every living being. The Mother Goddess is the mother of the entire universe, how can she discriminate between her children? Krishna is also a form of Her.”
“Don’t argue, daughter-in-law!” Panditji said sternly. “Whatever has been happening for years will happen.”
Vidha fell silent, but her mind was restless. She felt they were merely carrying on a tradition, not understanding its spirit.
On the morning of Ashtami, nine girls came to the house, among them Pari. Panditji was washing their feet and applying tilak to them. Just then, a small child stood at the door. It was Krishna. He had come to see his sister.
There was a strange longing in his eyes. He was watching his sister receive so much respect, being dressed in new clothes and served delicious food.
Panditji looked at him and looked away.
Just then, Vidha’s daughter, Riya, got up and walked over to Kanha with her bowl of kheer. “Will you eat too?” she asked innocently.
Seeing this, Vidha couldn’t hold back her tears. She looked at her father-in-law with hopeful eyes.
A conflict was brewing within Pandit Rambharose. On one side were his years of beliefs and fear of society. On the other, a deep question lurked in the eyes of two innocent children. He suddenly remembered another aspect of his scriptural knowledge: “God is neither male nor female. She is simply an energy that resides equally in every living being.”
He realized that while he was worshipping the Goddess, he had forgotten Her most important message of equality.
He took a deep breath, and what he did next astonished everyone present.
He got up and went over to Kanha. He knelt before Him, and with his trembling palms, he washed the little child’s feet.
“Forgive me, son,” he said, tears welling in his eyes. “Today you have taught me the true meaning of my greatest worship.”
That day, not just nine girls were worshipped in that house, but ten children.
This story teaches us that social traditions are our heritage, but when they don’t change with time, they become bondages. The true festival of Navratri lies not just in worshipping girls, but in seeing a part of the goddess in every child and respecting equality.
Pandit Rambharose didn’t break an old tradition that day, but made it even greater and more meaningful. He taught that the greatest scripture is that of humanity.
