West India (Gujarat)
Known as Navratri Garba
Every night people gather around an earthen pot with holes and a lamp inside (garbo), which represents the goddess and the light of life within the body. They dance Garba in circles around it with clapping and turning steps, followed in many places by Dandiya Raas with pairs of decorated sticks. Traditional clothes such as chaniya choli and kediyu are worn, and Ambaji and other Mata temples see large crowds.
Why it matters there: The circular dance around the lamp expresses the cycle of life with the goddess at the centre, and the nightly gatherings make Navratri Gujarat's best-loved festival.
East India (West Bengal, Tripura, Assam)
Known as Durga Puja
The main celebration runs from Shashthi to Dashami. Clay idols of Durga with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya are installed in homes and community pandals. On Saptami a banana plant dressed as a bride (Kola Bou or Nabapatrika) is bathed and installed; on Ashtami devotees offer flowers (pushpanjali), and the Sandhi Puja at the junction of Ashtami and Navami is performed with 108 lamps and lotuses. Dhak drums, dhunuchi dance with incense burners and pandal visits fill the days.
Why it matters there: Durga is welcomed as a daughter returning to her parents' home for a few days with her children, which gives the festival its warmth and its emotional farewell.
South India (Karnataka)
Known as Mysuru Dasara and Bombe Habba
In Mysuru, the festival honours Chamundeshwari, the goddess of the Chamundi Hills, with the palace lit up every evening and cultural programmes across the city, ending in the grand procession on Vijayadashami. In homes across Karnataka families set up a display of dolls (Bombe Habba) on steps, and on Navami they perform Ayudha Puja, worshipping tools, vehicles and instruments of work.
Why it matters there: Chamundeshwari is believed to have slain Mahishasura on the hill above Mysuru, and the royal Dasara has been celebrated there for centuries.
South India (Tamil Nadu)
Known as Navaratri Golu (Kolu)
Families arrange dolls of gods, saints, people and everyday scenes on an odd number of steps covered with cloth. Women invite one another in the evenings, sing devotional songs before the Golu, and give guests a small return gift (thamboolam) with betel leaves, fruit and turmeric, along with sundal made from lentils or chickpeas. On Navami books and instruments are worshipped for Saraswati Puja, together with Ayudha Puja.
Why it matters there: The steps of dolls are said to represent the ladder of creation, from simple life up to the divine, all held in the goddess.
South India (Telangana)
Known as Bathukamma
Through the Navratri period, women arrange seasonal flowers such as marigold and celosia in conical layers to make a Bathukamma, place it in a courtyard or public ground, and dance and sing in circles around it in the evening. The festival ends with a grand final day (Saddula Bathukamma), when the flower stacks are floated in a lake or tank.
Why it matters there: Bathukamma, meaning roughly mother goddess come alive, is a celebration of Gauri and of nature, and is Telangana's state festival.
West India (Maharashtra)
Ghatasthapana is done at home with a pot of water on a bed of soil sown with grain, and an oil lamp is kept burning. The temples of Tulja Bhavani at Tuljapur and Mahalakshmi at Kolhapur draw large numbers of pilgrims. Girls play Bhondla (also called Hadga), singing songs in a circle around a drawing of an elephant.
Why it matters there: Tulja Bhavani and Mahalakshmi are among the most revered forms of the goddess in Maharashtra, and Navratri is their main festival.
North India (Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu)
Families sow barley in a pot of soil at Ghatasthapana and watch the shoots (jau, or khetri in Punjab) grow through the nine days. Many people fast and hold night-long devotional singing (jagrata), while pilgrims visit shrines such as Vaishno Devi. On Ashtami or Navami young girls are invited home, their feet washed, and they are fed halwa, puri and chana (Kanjak or Kanya Puja). Ramlila performances also run through these nights.
Why it matters there: The sprouting barley is seen as a sign of the goddess's blessing and a good harvest, and Kanya Puja honours every girl as a form of the goddess.
