Hindus celebrate Navratri for first time locally
Local Hindus have been celebrating the Navratri festival for the first time in Guernsey, with music and dancing.
The annual Hindu festival honours the goddess Durga – an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine days and usually in India it is marked on each day.
However, the local Indian community instead decided to hold a single evening event.
More than 100 people turned out for the local celebration at Cobo Community Centre on Saturday night.
A Guernsey Indian community spokesman said originally they had expected about 70 people, but in the end there were about 115.
‘It was fabulous,’ he said.
The festival focuses on celebrating feminine aspects and the local women have spent weeks preparing for the Dandiya dance.
‘They have little wooden sticks in their hands and they have steps to follow,’ the spokesman said.
‘They hit the sticks gently and it makes a very nice sound. And when you have a group of people, it sounds really nice.’
There was also an array of curries, rice and breads on offer.
The spokesman estimated there could be as many as 500 Hindus living in Guernsey and said it was great to have about a fifth of them turn out for the evening.
Having seen the success of Saturday’s event, they are looking to make it an annual event.
See more pictures in Tuesday's paper
