Chaitra Navratri 2023: Here's how the Hindu festival is celebrated in different parts of India

The festival of Chaitra Navratri is devoted to worshipping the nine incarnations of Durga where each day of this festival holds a different significance and is dedicated to the nine avatars of Maa Durga including Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. Also known as Vasant Navratri, Chaitra Navratri will be celebrated from March 22, 2023 to March 30, 2023.

Many people also associate this festival with the birth of Lord Ram, the seventh avatar of Hindu god Vishnu and son of King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya. Places associated with Ram's birth and his life are decorated on this day and people come to these places to worship him.

Celebrated as Ugadi or Yugadi, the festival marks the beginning of a New Year according to traditional calendars followed by the Hindu community. Ugadi formed by combining two Sanskrit words – 'Yuga' and 'Adi' - means new beginnings.

While the day has a special significance for the people of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka who celebrate the day as Ugadi, people in Maharashtra and Goa celebrate the festival as ‘Gudi Padwa’. It is also celebrated as 'Chaitra Navratri' in some parts of the country.

People celebrate Ugadi to mark the fresh beginnings and the joys of the upcoming year where ugadi symbolises that people should bask in the goodness of life and celebrate all flavours in the New Year. The festival also celebrates the onset of spring, which symbolises relief from the harshness of the winter weather.

To mark new beginnings, people buy new clothes and decorate their homes with mango leaves and flowers. On the day of the festival, people use a mixture of water and cow dung and use it to sprinkle on the areas around their homes.

They worship the Gods and welcome the New Year. In southern states, devotees start the day with an oil bath while relatives gather together to celebrate as well.