How Is Navratri Celebrated Across India? Garba, Durga Puja, Golu and More

Navratri is not one uniform event. Across India, the festival takes different forms shaped by regional history, local deities, artistic traditions and family customs. These differences explain why people can celebrate the same season in visibly different ways.

Gujarat: Garba and Dandiya Raas

In Gujarat, Garba is a central feature of many Navratri celebrations. Participants dance in circles, often around a central lamp or symbolic arrangement, while Dandiya Raas uses decorated sticks in set patterns. Modern public events may be large and commercial, but the dances remain a major expression of community participation and devotion.

West Bengal: Durga Puja

In West Bengal and neighbouring regions, Durga Puja is a major cultural and religious event. Communities build pandals, commission artistic images, organise worship and gather for cultural programmes. The public art and community work are an important part of the experience, not simply decoration around a private ritual.

North India: fasting and Ramlila

In parts of North India, Navratri is linked with fasting, worship of the Goddess and Ramlila performances that retell episodes from the Ramayana. The wider festive period ends with Vijayadashami or Dussehra, whose meaning and rituals vary by region.

South India: Golu and Kolu

In parts of South India, families arrange Golu or Kolu displays of dolls and figurines on stepped platforms. These displays can show deities, scenes from the epics, everyday life or community themes. Families may invite neighbours, exchange food and sing devotional songs.

And many more

Other regions have their own mix of temple worship, local fairs, folk music, fasting and community gatherings. Even within one state, practices differ between families and communities. If you want to understand a specific ritual, ask people from that region or community, or a local cultural institution.

The bottom line

These traditions should not be ranked by which is most authentic. A better question is what each custom means to the people who practise it. Navratri's cultural richness comes partly from this variety: a shared season that leaves room for local expression.

Read our complete Navratri guide, the nine forms of Maa Durga, and what the Navratri colours mean.