{"id":1960,"date":"2011-09-30T15:50:28","date_gmt":"2011-09-30T22:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=1960"},"modified":"2011-10-24T13:30:35","modified_gmt":"2011-10-24T20:30:35","slug":"victory-over-evil-av-indians-celebrate-navratri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2011\/09\/30\/victory-over-evil-av-indians-celebrate-navratri\/","title":{"rendered":"Victory over evil, AV Indians celebrate Navratri"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Goddess<\/a>
Goddess Durga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER – Indian communities across the world are celebrating Navratri this week. The Hindu custom is celebrated over nine days in September-October, and observed throughout India to commemorate the goddess Durga.<\/p>\n

Locally, hundreds in the Antelope Valley Indian community, who are devotees of Durga, are celebrating Navratri by observing a fast for the protection of health and prosperity, says Mamta Jawa, owner of India Sweets and Spice.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach day [of the fast] represents each individual Indian goddess,\u201d said Jawa. \u201cWe fast by eating only vegetables that are grown underground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mamta<\/a>
Mamta Jawa readies a table with items, which can be consumed during the Navratri fast.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She says food prepared during the Navratri fast should be cooked without onions and garlic and should be pure vegetarian meals. The observance and fast continues for eight or nine days according to the lunar calendar. Navratri 2011 started September 28th<\/sup> and will end October 6th<\/sup>. During this time, the mother goddess is said to appear in different forms. Each form signifies various traits of the goddess\u2019 influence.<\/p>\n

During the first three days, the goddess is separated as a spiritual force called Durga, also known as Kali, in order to destroy all impurities\u00ad.<\/p>\n

During the second three days the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing inexhaustible wealth on her devotees.<\/p>\n

And the final days are spent worshippin\u00adg the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity\u00ad, hence the nine nights of worship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe eight or ninth day of the fast celebrates victory over evil,\u201d says Jawa.<\/p>\n

On the eighth day of the observance devotees will perform Kanchka, a ritual where young prepubescent girls are ceremonially worshipped.<\/p>\n

\"Kanchka\"<\/a>
Young girls take part in Kanchka. (Photo courtesy: Tribune India)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe will have about 11 girls, under the age of six, who are meant to [symbolize] a respectful goddess,\u201d says Jawa. \u201cWe worship them by washing their feet and giving them offerings. You can give them money, gifts or anything you want. It is like you\u2019re offering it to the goddess; you\u2019re offering it to Durga.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jawa says the girls are also dressed in red scarves and made up to represent a \u201ctrue goddess picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s symbolic of the goddess, as if she is here and you are worshipping her,\u201d says Jawa. \u201cThat\u2019s how you finish off the fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young girls, in turn, give a blessing to devotees, which can be whatever is in their hearts. Jawa and fellow AV Indians will hold the Kanchka ritual at India Sweets and Spice on October 4th <\/sup>at 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

They are seeking young prepubescent girls to partake in the ritual. She says girls do not necessarily have to be Indian, and any girl under the age of six is eligible.<\/p>\n

For more information on Navratri or if you would like your daughter to participate in the Kanchka ceremony, contact Mamta Jawa at India Sweets and Spice at 661-948-6059.<\/p>\n

On the last day of Navratri, October 4th<\/sup>, India Sweets and Spice will also be giving away free offerings to customers. The store is located at 1832 W. Ave. K Lancaster, CA 93534.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER – Indian communities across the world are celebrating Navratri this week. The Hindu custom is celebrated over nine days in September-October, and observed throughout India to commemorate the goddess Durga. Locally, hundreds in the Antelope Valley Indian community, who are devotees of Durga, are celebrating Navratri by observing a fast for the protection of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}