When the nature steps in autumn season after ending of rains, and the air is scented with blossoms of Jasmine and roses, we welcome our beloved deity ‘DEVI MA’ and celebrate the navratri (nine nights) festival; the ‘Sharad Navratri’ being celebrated with much more gusto in comparison to four other navratris, occurring in a year.
These nine nights and ten days are full of celebrations and jubilations, and each day we make our best endeavor to win affection of our Mother Goddess-Durga, by worshipping nine forms of Shakti (the sublime, ultimate, absolute creative energy). Most people, who observe fast for eight or nine days, culminate the fast by ‘Kanya Pujan’ worshipping young girls who end we eulogize a female form, and at the other when a soul in a female form wants to become part of our family, we make all possible efforts to get rid of it, to the extent of killing it in the wombs of her mother. Yeah! You guessed right, I am talking about rising rate of female foeticide!
Yet another derisive fact is that states such as; Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh, etc, where we observe great fervour in worshipping the goddess to seek her blessing, rank quite high in the list of female foeticide. And surprisingly- who allows the killing?
Of course, it is the mom, the mother, because she is the one bearing the child. Isn’t it strange for a mother to disallow a life to live on earth because it is draped in the body of a girl?
The question now is-What could be the reason behind it? Is a mother forced to kill her female child by people around her? But isn’t it ridiculous that the incidences of foeticide are quite high in urban areas, where we know that women are much empowered and more educated than their rural counterpart.
Or, does a mother feel that her sons are of greater worth than their daughter? Her sons are investment for her old age, despite the fact she remained more committed to her parents than her brothers!have not reached puberty. Even otherwise, there is a tradition to worship young girls as representatives of the goddess Durga.
Or, is it because she herself bore the pains of growing up in an insensitive society which is full of beasts in human form? These beings have learnt to invoke the blessings of the most powerful goddess thinking that by following the procedures mentioned in our ancient texts alone they can get their wishes fructify, and the living goddess, any female’s on this earth, is just to serve them in bed. They think themselves to be superior and that they can derive whatever they want from any woman at their will or by force with means as atrocious as- rapes, domestic violence, extracting material wealth from girl’s parents through dowries, etc . These mal practices in our society could be the reason to deter parents to nurture a girl child.The mother, who herself feels timid, may be, due to the tortures society has inflicted on her, does not want her female child to undergo the harsh realities of existence in this unscrupulous world. But shouldn’t the worship of goddess remind us about the positive and creative forces existing on this earth in the form of a female? Why have the ladies given up their strengths, when the goddess has shown that when all other power fails, it is her who comes to rescue the universe from the clutches of demons spreading terror, disharmony and unrest. I hope you all to agree on this that the reason for giving so much importance to worship of the female goddess is to tell the world the importance of female energy, which if not allowed to co- exist will lead the world towards its annihilation.
Women need to understand their strengths, by emphasizing the contribution they are making towards building a saner society. Why do women believe that they derive power only by appealing to men’s senses, and winning their attraction is the only purpose they have on this earth! It is high time for women to appreciate their inherent power and energy. Let it start from every women and say ‘no’ to female foeticide! They need to understand their own worth, and not let anyone demean their contribution in respect to men?
We celebrate nine days, but the tenth day of a women’s life is yet to come; the day when women overcomes the weakness of feeling inferior by being born a female or
giving birth to daughters. And the people should understand that they can ill afford to take lightly the contribution of women in keeping this universe going..! Just like the demons paid for the wrath of goddess Durga by its annihilation; a society is heading towards its extinction by ignoring the vital force, the other half of its population; the women.. Let’s understand essence of this festival and learn to respect the goddess within us so as to celebrate VIJAYDASHMI in true sense; when a girl gets an equal right to live in this world with self-respect and dignity. Hope we will all contribute towards having a happy Vijay Dashmi…