Gauri's first Navratri

In this episode

• Gauri is new in the city, and Meena Aunty invites her to kanya pujan.
• Aunty washes the girls' feet and gives them halwa, puri and a red chunri.
• Dadi explains, and Gauri shares her gift with her little brother.

Read along

*[Sound: one soft, light bell. 2 seconds.]*

Gauri was six years old. Just a few days ago, she had moved to a new city with her mummy and papa, her grandmother, whom she called Dadi, and her little brother, Chintu. A new house, a new lane, new faces everywhere. Everything felt a little strange to Gauri.

One morning the doorbell rang. Meena Aunty from the house across the lane was standing there, smiling. "Tomorrow is Ashtami," she said. "We are doing kanya pujan at our home. Please send Gauri. Other little girls from the lane are coming too."

Gauri hid behind Dadi. "Dadi," she whispered, "I don't know anyone there."

Dadi stroked her hair. "By tomorrow you will, my dear."

The next morning, Mummy put Gauri in her yellow frock and tied her hair in two plaits. Dadi held her hand and walked her across to Aunty's house.

Aunty's house smelled of marigold flowers. There was a rangoli at the door, and a lamp was glowing in the puja corner. Seven or eight little girls were sitting on a mat. Some were four, some were seven. There was one little boy too, Aunty's grandson.

Gauri sat quietly at the very end of the row. She held the edge of her frock between her fingers. The other girls were chatting and giggling together. "I wish I knew someone here," Gauri thought. Dadi was sitting near the door. She caught Gauri's eye and gave a small, gentle nod, as if to say, all is well.

Then Aunty came with a plate of water. One by one, she gently washed each girl's feet and dried them with a soft, clean cloth. She put a small red tilak on each forehead, and tied a red thread around each wrist.

When Aunty came to Gauri, Gauri was surprised. "Why is Aunty washing my feet?" she wondered. "Grown-ups don't touch our feet. We touch the feet of grown-ups!"

Next, Aunty placed a leaf plate in front of each girl. On it were hot, puffy puris, sweet halwa, and little black chana. Gauri loved the halwa. The girl beside her leaned over and said, "My name is Pinky. Do you like halwa too?" Gauri nodded, and for the first time that day, she smiled.

After the meal, Aunty draped a red chunri over each girl's head, like a soft little shawl, and gave each of them a small packet. Gauri opened hers. Inside were coloured pencils! Then Aunty folded her hands to all the children and said warmly, "Thank you for coming. You have filled my home with light."

When Gauri got home, she climbed straight into Dadi's lap. "Dadi, why did Aunty wash our feet? And why did she fold her hands to us? We are only little."

Dadi laughed softly. She straightened Gauri's red chunri and said, "In Navratri we pray to Devi Maa, don't we? In our tradition, on Ashtami and Navami, little girls are seen as a form of the Devi. So on that day, people honour them, feed them with love, and give them gifts."

Gauri's eyes went wide. "Me? A form of the Devi?"

"Yes," said Dadi. "And here is something else. Today was a day for little girls. But the truth is, every child is precious. You are precious, Pinky is precious, and so is our Chintu."

Just then Chintu came running in. He spotted the coloured pencils in Gauri's hand. "Didi, what's that?"

Gauri looked at the packet. Then she looked at Chintu. She remembered what Dadi had said, that every child is precious.

She opened the packet and held out half the pencils to her brother. "Here, these are yours. Let's draw a picture together."

That evening, the two of them made one big picture together. In it there was a glowing lamp, and marigold flowers, and lots and lots of children, holding hands and smiling.

Dadi looked at the picture and said, "That is what Navratri is."

The new city did not feel so strange to Gauri any more. Tomorrow, she was going to play with Pinky.

**

And now, may I ask you something? Is there something you love that you would like to share with someone close to you?

**

This story was narrated with an AI voice, and written by the DharmikVibes team.

*[Sound: soft bell. Fade.]*

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• Listen: Gauri's first Navratri
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• All episodes of Gauri's first Navratri