Navratri and Dussehra: Nine Nights of Dance and a Day of Victory

By the Hindi Haveli team · October 28, 2026

For nine nights every autumn, much of India dances. In Gujarat, thousands of people move in great circles to the beat of drums. In Bengal, whole neighborhoods build glowing pavilions for the goddess Durga. In North Indian towns, actors perform the Ramayana night after night on open-air stages. Then, on the tenth day, giant effigies of the demon king Ravana go up in flames to cheers and fireworks.

This is Navratri, followed by Dussehra. This guide explains what the festivals mean, how different regions celebrate them, when they fall in 2027, and the Hindi words you will hear.

What does Navratri mean?

नवरात्रि (navraatri) joins two words:

नव (nav) means nine. (It can also mean new, which makes for nice wordplay.)
रात्रि (raatri) means night. The everyday word for night is रात (raat).

So Navratri means "nine nights." The festival honors the Divine Mother, worshiped as the goddess Durga and her many forms. Each night is dedicated to one form of the goddess, and many families fast, pray and gather each evening.

There are actually two main Navratris each year, one in spring and one in autumn. The autumn one, called Sharad Navratri, is the biggest. In 2027, Sharad Navratri is expected to begin around October 1, with Dussehra about nine days later. Dates vary a little by region, so check a local calendar.

The words in the name

नौ (nau): nine (the everyday word)
नव (nav): nine, or new
रात (raat): night
देवी (devee): goddess
माँ (maan): mother (the goddess is often called "Maa")

Gujarat: garba and dandiya

In Gujarat, Navratri means dancing. Each evening, people gather in courtyards, community halls and huge open grounds to dance garba, a circle dance around a lamp or an image of the goddess. Dancers clap and turn in rings, moving together in patterns that can include hundreds of people.

Later in the night comes dandiya raas, danced in pairs with short decorated sticks called डांडिया (DaanDiyaa). Partners strike sticks in rhythm as the lines move. Women wear bright, mirror-worked skirts called चनिया चोली (chaniyaa cholee), and men wear short, flared kurtas called केडिया (keDiyaa).

Garba has become hugely popular outside India too. In the US, Canada and the UK, Navratri garba nights can draw thousands of people, many of them dancing it for the first time.

Dance words

नाच (naach): dance
नाचना (naachnaa): to dance
गरबा (garbaa): the Gujarati circle dance
डांडिया (DaanDiyaa): the dance sticks, and the dance
ताली (taalee): a clap
घेरा (gheraa): a circle, a ring

Bengal: Durga Puja

In West Bengal and among Bengali communities everywhere, the same season brings Durga Puja, one of the greatest festivals in the world. Artists spend months sculpting beautiful clay images of the goddess Durga with her ten arms, riding a lion and defeating the buffalo demon Mahishasura. These are placed in temporary pavilions called pandals, some of which are works of art in themselves.

For five days, people visit pandal after pandal, eat street food, and dress in new clothes. On the last day, the images are carried to the river with music and dancing and immersed in the water, as families bid the goddess farewell until next year.

North India: Ramlila and Dussehra

Across North India, the nine nights are the time of रामलीला (raamleelaa), "the play of Rama." Local groups act out the Ramayana on stages in parks and fields, with costumes, music and plenty of drama. Families bring snacks and sit on the grass, and children know every scene by heart.

On the tenth day comes Dussehra, also called विजयादशमी (vijayaadashamee), "the victorious tenth." It celebrates Rama's victory over Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka. In the evening, huge effigies of Ravana, often joined by his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad, are set on fire. The crowd cheers as the fireworks inside them burst.

Dussehra words

दशहरा (dashaharaa): Dussehra
विजय (vijay): victory
दस (das): ten
पुतला (putlaa): an effigy, a large figure
बुराई (buraaee): evil, badness
अच्छाई (achchhaaee): goodness

The phrase you will hear most is बुराई पर अच्छाई की जीत (buraaee par achchhaaee kee jeet), "the victory of good over evil." It is the heart of Dussehra, and it is also a lovely phrase to teach children because it uses simple, useful words.

South India: Golu and Saraswati

In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, many families set up a display of dolls arranged on steps, called golu or bombe habba. Friends visit each other's homes to see the displays and receive small gifts. Toward the end of Navratri, books, tools and musical instruments are honored in Saraswati and Ayudha Puja, and in some families small children write their first letters on Vijayadashami, a tradition of beginning learning on an auspicious day.

That makes Vijayadashami a wonderful day to start learning Hindi letters too.

Fasting food

Many people fast during Navratri, eating no grains and choosing special foods instead. Common Navratri dishes use buckwheat flour, water chestnut flour, potatoes, peanuts, sago and fruits.

Fasting words

व्रत (vrat): a religious fast
उपवास (upvaas): fasting
आलू (aaloo): potato
साबूदाना (saaboodaanaa): sago pearls
फल (phal): fruit

Wishing someone well

Greetings

नवरात्रि की शुभकामनाएँ (navraatri kee shubhkaamnaaen): Best wishes for Navratri
दशहरे की शुभकामनाएँ (dashahare kee shubhkaamnaaen): Best wishes for Dussehra
शुभ विजयादशमी (shubh vijayaadashamee): Happy Vijayadashami

Notice that दशहरा changes to दशहरे before की. Many Hindi nouns ending in -aa change to -e when a little word like की, का or में follows. You will see this everywhere once you know to look for it.

Family ideas for the nine nights

Count the nights in Hindi. Each evening, light a candle and say the number: एक, दो, तीन, up to नौ.
Learn one garba step. Many community centers and online videos teach the basic three-clap step. Dance it in the living room.
Make a mini golu. Arrange favorite toys on stacked books and invite family to visit.
Tell the Ramayana in short. Each night, tell one part of the story in English with Hindi names: राम, सीता, हनुमान, रावण.
Start something new on Dussehra. Write a first Hindi letter, read a first story, or begin a new module.

Begin learning on the victorious tenth

Many families start new learning on Vijayadashami. Our first module in the script room, Meet the Vowels, is free for everyone, and it teaches you to read your first Hindi word in a few short lessons. Make it your Dussehra gift to yourself.

नवरात्रि और दशहरे की शुभकामनाएँ!

Your turn: try it free

The first module of every room is free. Start with the vowels and read your first Hindi word today. Open the free first module