The nine-day long Hindu festival of Navratri began with much fervour on Monday.

The Shardiya Navratri festival is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars and today marks the first day of the festivity (Kalash or Ghatsthapna). The festival is celebrated with much fervour all across the country by Hindus. Devotees flocked to the Mata Vaishno Devi Mandir atop the Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra on the first day today.

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has put in place all necessary arrangements to meet the heavy rush of devotees, officials said.

Similar scenes were also seen at the Mumbai Devi Temple in Mumba, where the early morning ‘Aarti’ was performed on the first day of the Navratri.

Visuals from Delhi’s Jhandewalan temple in Delhi showed devotees offering prayers to Maa Durga.

The priest of Chhatarpur Temple Delhi while talking to ANI, talked about the significance of the festival.

“Today is the first day of Navratri, we worship in the name of Shailputri. Today, Maa Durga fulfils the wishes of those who worship her. Chhatarpur temple is not just famed in the country, but across the world. It was Sant Baba Nagpal Ji. We have done all the arrangements so that the devotees can worship the goddess, langar, security and sanitation arrangements have also been done,” the priest said.

Navratri means ‘nine nights’ in Sanskrit. Hindus observe a total of four Navratris throughout the year. Only two of them, Chaitra Navaratri and Shardiya Navaratri see widespread celebrations, as they coincide with the beginnings of the seasons.

From Ashwin Shukla Paksha’s Navami until the Pratipada, Shardiya Navratri is observed. While the holiday is celebrated with great fanfare across the nation, distinct traditions are more commonly practised in different states.

Navratri 2022 Timeline:

This year, Navratri will last nine days, starting on September 26 and concluding on October 5.
Navratri 2022 History:
The festival of Navratri honours the defeat of the demonic Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. Because of Mahishasura’s unwavering devotion to him, Lord Brahma bestows the gift of immortality upon him at the beginning of the narrative.

The blessing did, however, come with one stipulation: only a woman would be able to overcome him. The demon began terrorising people on Earth because he didn’t think any woman would be strong enough to overcome him. Gods were unable to halt him.

Since Mahishasura was to be demolished, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva pooled their efforts to create the goddess Durga. They gave her a number of weapons. Ten days passed during Maa Durga and Mahishasura’s conflict. However, Maa Durga was able to overcome him when he at last transformed into a buffalo.

Navratri 2022 Significance:During the nine-day Navratri festival, devotees worship Maa Durga’s nine incarnations in order to obtain her blessings. There is a goddess manifestation linked with each day of Navratri. During these nine days, people maintain ritualistic fasts, recite shlokas dedicated to each goddess, wear new clothing, offer bhog, and clean their homes. In their prayers, they ask the goddess for her favour in order to have prosperous, joyous, and fulfilled lives.

Ramlila is organised extensively during Navratri in North India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. During the Ramlila, the tale of Lord Ram’s triumph over Ravana is acted out. The effigies of King Ravana are burned on Dussehra to commemorate the triumph of good over evil.

In fact, on the tenth day of Navratri, also known as Vijayadashami, a large procession is organised during which clay figurines of Maa Durga are ceremoniously submerged in a river, sea, or ocean. Popular places to do this practice include West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Bihar. The most significant day for Maa Durga’s worship is thought to be the day of Durga Visarjan.

Navratri 2022 Celebrations:
Numerous dances, including Garba and Dandiya Raas, are performed during the nine-day festival. While Dandiya Raas involves dancing with dandiya sticks to the beat of the music, Garba is a traditional dance in which participants clap their hands and move in a circle while making rhythmic gestures.

In India, Navratri is celebrated in a wide range of ways. Ramlila, a celebration in which scenes from the Ramayana are performed, is organised in North India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. The burning of King Ravana’s effigies marks the conclusion of the story on Vijayadashami.

JAMMU: Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who ended his more than five-decade-long association with the Congress last month, is likely to launch his party in the next couple of days.
“I am inviting the media on (Monday) before the launch of the party. I am here to meet workers and leaders,” Azad told reporters in a brief interaction at his residence here upon his arrival from Delhi.
A close aide of the former J&K chief minister has confirmed the news.
“He is having two back to back separate meetings with senior and second rung leaders later today,” he said, adding Azad is visiting Srinagar on September 27.
He said the name and the flag of the new party have been finalised and it is now a matter of a day or two before the new party becomes a reality on the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.
Azad, 73, quit Congress on August 26, terming the party “comprehensively destroyed”. He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for “demolishing” the party’s entire consultative mechanism.
Over two dozen prominent Congress leaders including former deputy chief minister Tara Chand, several former ministers and legislators also resigned from the Congress in support of Azad. Two former legislators, one each of the PDP and Apni party, also followed suit.
He has earlier spelt out that the top agendas of his party will be to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and protect the land and job rights of its residents.(Agencies)

JAMMU, Sept 24: Chander Mohan Gupta and Advocate Purnima Sharma resigned from Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) on Saturday.
While talking to media persons in Jammu, J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina informed that both the leaders wanted to provide their services for the well-being of J&K BJP, and they resigned.
He further informed that new names for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be announced in consultation with the party’s senior and core committee members in due course of time.

Jammu, Sep 24: Two mortar shells were found in the forward villages along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.
A live mortar shell was noticed by villagers at Pragwal in Akhnoor sector on the outskirts of Jammu this morning, they said, adding the bomb disposal squad is working to defuse it.
Another mortar shell was detected by the Border Security Force (BSF) during patrolling in Regal area of Samba district late on Thursday, they said, adding the shell was safely defused by experts. (Agencies)

Srinagar, Sept 24: Former minister and BJP’s Kashmir Affairs in charge, Sunil Sharma on Saturday said that the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah will address mega rallies in Rajouri and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir on October 1 and 2 respectively.

Addressing a press conference here, Sharma said that Shah will arrive Jammu on September 30 and on October 1 he will address a mega rally in Rajouri district, news agency KNO reported.

Sharma said that Shah will also a mega rally in Baramulla town on October 2, in which people from not only from north Kashmir, but from across the valley will participate.

“He will talk about several issues with the people of Kashmir in the rally and will also highlight various things regarding development in Jammu and Kashmir and what central government is doing on various fronts for the development of J&K,” Sharma said.

Replying to a question, Sharma said that it is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India to make announcement about holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir and that BJP is always ready for elections.

He also said that connecting Amit Shah’s visit with holding of elections in Jammu and Kashmir “would be wrong, as this is his routine visit to the region”. “He has yesterday visited Bihar as well and he will be visiting J&K also, which is a routine visit to take stock of several developmental projects and security issues,” he said.

Sharma added that Amit Shah will also lay foundation stone for Cancer hospital, being constructed by the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, in the Valley.

Jammu, Sept 24: The district authority in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban has banned foot movement of nomadic families with their livestock in an effort to ensure hassle-free vehicular traffic on the strategic 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, officials said on Saturday.
However, the authorities will make available 50 trucks to transport the tribal families returning to Jammu from the highland pastures of Kashmir, they said.
Quoting a recent order by Ramban District Magistrate Mussarat Islam, the officials said Sub-divisional Magistrate Banihal Zahir Abbas had been appointed as nodal officer to oversee the migration plan.
The nodal officer will be assisted by the district’s Assistant Regional Transport Officer Samrinder Singh and Manager, Road Transport Corporation, Rajesh, the district magistrate said in the order. Their mobile numbers been designated as helpline numbers.
The order bans foot movement of the nomadic families and their livestock on the highway, the district’s only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of India.
Every year, lakhs of people from nomadic tribes, mainly the Gujjars and Bakerwals, migrate to the Valley when temperatures soar in the plains of Jammu in April-May before returning ahead of the onset of winter.
The Union Territory’s tribal affairs department, for the first time this May, provided trucks to transport the families and their livestock from various districts in Jammu to the highland pastures of Kashmir.
This reduced their travel time from 20-30 days to one to two days, while also helping in smooth traffic management, especially on the highway.

JAMMU, Sept 24: The 270 km long Jammu-Srinagar National highway was blocked due to fresh landslides and shooting stones on Saturday morning, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded.
The Jammu-Srinagar NHW (NH-44) has been blocked at Mehad in Ramban due to continuous shooting stones. People are advised not to travel on Jammu -Srinagar national highway without confirmation from Traffic Control Units at Jammu, Srinagar, and Ramban.
Notably, the Jammu-Srinagar highway is the sole all-weather road that connects Kashmir to the rest of the country. All essential supplies and vehicles pass through the highway.
Mudslides are being reported at various locations in Jammu and Kashmir due to incessant rainfall across the valley. Man and machinery are on work to restore traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Teams of the National Highway Authority of India and district administration are on the spot to resume the traffic at the earliest.