Celebrate this Navratri Like You Never Have! Check Out These Awesome Ideas for Navratri Pandal Decoration (2019)

Navratri is the festival of nine holy days and is among the most auspicious festivals of the Hindu calendar. It is celebrated across all parts of India with much joy and vigour. It falls in the lunar month of Ashwin during Sharad Ritu.

These nine days are dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars. Each day represents a particular avatar Goddess Durga took. The festival is celebrated as the symbol of a win of good over evil as Goddess Durga demolished the demon Mahishasura. This victory of her represents the victory of peace and dharma over ego and evil.

Apart from that, people follow various rituals and traditions in different parts of the country. People also play Garba and dandiya for these nine days in the hope of impressing the Goddess. Many people choose to take day-long fasts as well, for the same.

Navratri is celebrated twice a year. There are spiritual, mythological and natural reasons behind the celebration of Navratri. One of the reasons behind the festival is that it is celebrated as a juncture of seasonal changes. It is believed that mother nature changes at this juncture. This is observed in the form of worshipping Goddess Shakti, considered to be an embodiment of nature herself. Also, one is celebrated at the beginning of summer while the other is celebrated at the beginning of winter.

Also, according to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Lord Rama started this practice of worshipping Goddess Durga while in Lanka. He returned to Ayodhya victoriously after killing Ravana which is celebrated as Diwali. Hence, Navratri has an essential place in the Hindu religion.

During the nine days, different avatars of the Goddess are worshipped. On day one, Shailaputri is worshipped as she is the incarnation of Goddess Parvati. It is believed that she has the power of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. On day two, Brahmacharini is worshipped, who is the idol of peace and tranquillity.

On day three, Chandraghanta is worshipped, who is considered to be the embodiment of beauty. Apart from beauty, she is also considered as a symbol of power. On day four, Khushmunda is worshipped. She is regarded as the symbol of life and laughter.

On day five, Skand Mata is worshipped. It celebrates the powerful vulnerability of a mother as she can do anything when some evil comes near her child. Day six celebrates Katyayani, who was very brave and courageous. Goddess Kalratri is worshipped on day seven and represents the colour white and her fight for peace.

On day eight, Maha Gauri is worshipped, who is the incarnation of Goddess Durga, and she represents intelligence. Day nine marks the last day of Navratri and thus, Goddess Siddhidatri, who is blessed with healing powers. She is worshipped for happiness, blessings and positivity.

Each Indian state has a different way of celebrating Durga Puja. In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and various other places it is known as Navratri as people dance to Garba in the night for nine long days. This is because the fight between the demon Mahishasura and Goddess Durga lasted for nine days.

During these nine days, people fast and dance to impress the Goddess and also to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Thus, Navratri and Durga puja are not two different things, although Durga Puja is something that is celebrated with great joy in the eastern part of the country.

Navratri celebrates all nine different forms of Goddess Durga. Each form has a peculiar quality which the people worship. Apart from that, Navratri is something that is celebrated twice a year.

Rangoli is a beautiful art form. It is also considered sacred as per the Hindu mythology, and thus, you can perform rangoli in almost all the festivals. Apart from that, there are specific traditional motifs that have their significance. For example, Lord Vishnu loves Lotus and thus, many people draw motifs of a lotus to impress him.

Although, now people perform rangoli in various other motifs as well. Some of the favourite designs are traditional mango and geometric designs. Apart from that, people are also drawing themes of birds, animals and even various human figures.

Rangoli will look great in any pandal. Make it in a place where it does not hamper the entry and exit for people as a lot of people will attend the pandals and so, the rangoli should not be spoiled. You can perform rangoli with flowers and pulses as well, other than using powdered colours.

Flowers look amazing when it comes to Navratri pandal. Make sure to design the area near the Goddess properly. Use a variety of flowers such as marigolds, roses, carnations, roses and lilies. They will enhance the ambience of the pandal.

Apart from that, you can also do rangoli with flowers at the entrance of the pandal. There are various designs which look very pretty with flowers. However, there is one thing that you need to take care of flowers, and that is to replace them every day for nine days.

Flowers are a little high maintenance as they need to be changed daily. If you do not want to do that, you can consider decorating the pandal with artificial flowers. You can also make paper flower garlands. It will be in budget and will look pretty as well although we recommend using only real flowers near the Goddess.

Pretty earthen pots look great in the pandals. You can keep them near the entrance and even at the various corners of the pandal. With earthen pots, it is possible to paint them as per your liking. You can decorate them with mirrors as well.

There are various colourful earthen pots available in the market. You can buy those directly if you do not have enough time to pain them on your own. Make sure to purchase colourful pots so that they look attractive and festive.

You can also buy some flat earthen pots which have wide mouths. Add water and flowers in it. There are certain artificial flowers with lights in them. With these beautiful pots, your Navratri pandal will surely look unique and pretty.

Earthen pots have been used to decorate different spaces for the olden times. They light up the whole place and look really pretty. According to Hindu mythology, they are considered very sacredly as well. Every pooja thali has a diya made of clay.

These days people have started using metal diyas as well, and you can choose to decorate the pandal with those as well. Although, with earthen diyas, you have the liberty of decorating them with paints and mirrors and other decoratives.

You can decorate the place with pretty fragrant candles as well. These days you even get diyas that are battery operated. Even those look really pretty! Decorate the entrance of the pandal with those, and we assure you it is going to be praised by all.

If you are having a Navratri pandal in your home only, then you can use antique pieces to decorate it. Different statues or showpieces will look lovely. Even vases and flowerpots will look very pretty. Don't forget to add some fresh flowers in it!

You can look for various showpieces in your house and use them to decorate the pandal. You can even ask your friends for some of the antiques. Buying them does not make sense; however, if you have the budget, then you can surely go for buying some pieces.

Torans are an integral part of Navratri decoration or any Hindu festival. Many people even decorate their homes with it to give a grand look. A lot of different types of torans are available in the market, such as cloth torans with embroidery, lace torans, etc.

For Navratri pandal decoration, colourful cloth torans will be appropriate. Artificial floral torans are also available in the market today, which can be used for the decoration. Use torans near the entrance of the pandal.

There are certain torans with a series of lights in them. Such torans will look mesmerising in the night. Make sure to include those in the pandal as well. Usually, people perform Garba at the night and thus, these torans will look really lovely!

You can also have a thematic decoration for the pandal. In this way, it will get more comfortable for you to source the material required for the party. Without a theme, it so happens that you like everything and have no systematic designing plan, although a theme helps in narrowing the things down.

Choosing a colour theme for the pandal is a good idea. It is a broad theme and has many possibilities. You can do a monochrome theme or decide to go with 3-4 different colours. Choosing colours like red, green, orange and pink would be a good idea. They are colours with which the goddess is decorated.

Apart from that, you can choose a rainbow theme as well. You will have more colours and more possibilities. You can also synchronize a lot of things with that. Moreover, did you know that each day of Navratri has a dedicated colour? Since a different goddess is worshipped each day, a particular colour is dedicated to the Goddess. You can even take those colours as a theme for each day.

You can also choose a theme based on some message. Kids also attend Navratri pandals, and thus, these themes work really well with kids. Kids will have fun and learn something in return as well.

Themes like "save the environment", "save the girl child", "educate people" are some of the ideas you can go with. These themes are not only a message for the kids but are a great way of spreading the message in the community.

The decoration of the pandal can be done with different ideas of conveying the message of the theme. For example, if "save the environment" is your theme, then have a rangoli made which elaborates on saving water and other resources. In another corner, you can have a thermocol statue of keeping the environment clean. The ideas are endless!

Just decorating the area around Goddess is not enough. If you have a pandal where you are organizing Garba also, you should decorate that part as well. It is all about creating a festive vibe that syncs well with all the visitors.

The Garba ground can have various hangings near the stage. Usually, Garba grounds have a stage where singers sit, or the music system is kept. That place has a lot of scope of decoration. Hang lamps if possible.

Apart from that, make sure that the fencing of the Garba ground is also decorated. These are some of the places in an open space that can be decorated. So, we suggest using it wisely for hanging torans and lights.

Arrange for proper folk music for Garba. Remember that Garba cannot be done on any random music. It has these particular beats which go really well with the different steps of Garba. Although, every state has a peculiar style of playing Garba. In some states, people clap and play while in others they use "dandiya". So, make sure to arrange for the music because that is the most important thing. You can also call some local singers and have a live programme.

Although, if your budget does not permit or you do not find good singers in your city, then arrange for a sound music system. Make sure to download all the songs on a CD or USB. Do not play it online as a bad connectivity issue would hamper in the celebrations.

There is a ritual of singing an aarti for Goddess Durga in every pandal and every home during Navratri. It is a very important tradition that everyone follows. Thus, if you are organizing or hosting a pandal celebration, don't forget to make arrangements for the same.

You do not need elaborate items for the aarti. Just a proper diya aarti and a dish to keep it inside. Also, make sure to give aarti books to people present. You can also get the aarti printed on designer paper for people to read and sing.

If you do not want to do that, you can arrange for an audio file of the aarti. It will be more impressive to listen to, and also look nice. If you have singers attending, you can ask them to sing the aarti, else even ladies interested in singing can lead.