Navratra festival begins with religious fervour

Navratra festival begins with religious fervour Archit Watts/TNS

Katra, September 28
A large number of locals and pilgrims were seen dancing to the drum beats during the inauguration of the 16th navratra festival at the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine here today.
The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, along with a number of senior officials, inaugurated the festival. Cultural troupes from Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradhesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir gave impressive performances and the pilgrims were heard chanting “Jai Mata Di” and “Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai Mata Ne Bulaya Hai”.
“I am not much aware about the navratras, as I belong to to the Telugu community. It is a marvellous scene in the holy town. The performance of artistes, who have come here from different parts of the country, even made me dance,” said Angela Nastilia, who had come to pay obeisance at the cave shrine from Mauritius. Accompanied by her parents and a friend, Angela said, “We went up to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, but due to a huge rush of pilgrims we could not pay obeisance there. Still, we feel we are lucky, as we have come here during the navratras.”
She appreciated the arrangements made by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) en route the 13-km track to the shrine. Besides Angela, several other pilgrims expressed similar views to The Tribune. “The arrangements made by the administration are beyond our expectations. We have never enjoyed this much before,” said Rajiv Sharma, a resident of Delhi. He added, “Earlier, we have planned a three-day trip, but now we will stay here for a longer period.”
Sharma said not only the administration, but also hotel and restaurant owners were giving discounts to customers on the occasion. “We got two rooms in Hotel Continental at 20 per cent special discount,” he added.
Meanwhile, nine girls dressed as Goddess led a procession, while the Divisional Commissioner, Additional CEO of the SMVDSB MK Bhandari, officials of the Tourism Department, representatives of the Cultural Association, Katra, followed them.
The Dhoom Dhol Party from Madhya Pradesh, the Natti Troupe from Himachal Pradesh, the Om Parkash Dhol Party, the Traditional Dance Party of Biswa Nath, the Shridhar tableaux and three children dressed as devils were the key attractions of the procession. 
Girls dressed as Goddess lead a procession on the first day of the navratra festival in Katra on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma