Group to celebrate Navratri

by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   The Indo-American Cultural Foundation of Central New Jersey will be celebrating the Hindu holiday of Navratri in the South Brunswick High School gymnasium.
   The celebration will be held from 8 p.m. through 1 a.m. Sept. 26 and 27, and Oct. 10 and 11.
   The event will feature traditional music from Mahesh Mehta & Famous Singers from India and dance. A cash admission will be charged, however an amount has not yet been set, according to Mac Shah of the Cultural Foundation.
   ”It is going to be a fantastic, outstanding, super and mind-blowing event,” Mr. Shah said. “One should not want to miss it.”
   He said that in previous years the group has had as 1,500 people dancing at once. Bleachers are also pulled out for those who want to watch.
   Navratri is a religious and cultural event, in which Hindus worship the mother goddess Shakti, who is also known as Durga in her destructive role, Lakshmi in her protective role and Saraswati in her knowledge-giving role.
   In India, the celebration goes on for nine days. The first three days are dedicated to Durge, who is portrayed as being dressed in red and mounted on a lion. The second three days are dedicated to Lakshmi, who is portrayed as being dressed in gold and mounted on an owl. The final three days are dedicates to Saraswati, who dresses in milky white and rides on a swan.
   Mr. Shah said that Hindus in America typically celebrate the holiday on weekends because the festival goes late at night.
   Mr. Shah said the festival is an important way to pass the culture down to the next generation of Indian children who were born in the United States.
   ”It is much better to promote the culture as a community,” Mr. Shah said. “People come to this, young and old.”