For the last week, Hindus in London have been celebrating the festival Navaratri, meaning ‘nine nights’. Navaratri is a nine-day festival to celebrate the divine femininity of the Hindu goddess Durga. Starting on the same day as the ten-day Durga Puja festival, Navaratri is one of the four main autumn festivals that follow up to Diwali. Dussehra is a Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of the Vishnu avatar Rama over the demon Ravana. Navaratri usually sets the scene ahead of Diwali – it brings people closer to their culture and religion just before the biggest Hindu festival of the year.

Source: The Hindu November 03, 2023 12:21 UTC