Indian festivals are celebrated because of their long traditions and more importantly, they inspire joy and meaning in our lives. Navratri, the festival full of colors, dance and lights is here and it is the time of celebration as well as of reflection across the world. This nine-day Hindu festival brings togetherness and delight in everyone’s life and is celebrated in the adoration of Maa Durga and her nine forms. It is one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals across the nation.
Unfortunately, this time Covid-19 has cast a shadow on the festive season. There will be no pandals or community gatherings as social distancing is required for our protection.
But there are ways that we can still enjoy the festival and give back to the community in a sustainable manner.
Here are a few tips on how you can still relish the festival.
- Decorate your home: Paint your houses in earthy colors, and use garlands or wreaths as a form of decoration. Light diyas, scented candles, reed infuser and bakhoors to get a sense of purity and tranquility. You can create rangoli or alpana and can even plant indoor trees to enhance the pooja decoration. All of these are eco-friendly and easily compostable products which can be used to decorate your house in a sustainable manner.
- Feeding stray animals for Kanya Poojan: Using plastic containers to feed animals creates a negative environmental and health impact. Instead, we recommend using our sugarcane pulp plates, bowls and boxes which are 100% biodegradable. This way, you can keep the environment clean, animals safe and soak in the feeling of Navratri Pooja.
- Food for Kanya Pooja: Navratri festival cannot be complete if we don’t invite young girls for pooja rituals on the ninth day. Instead of inviting them to your home, you can pack the food in our organic disposable packaging and send it to their homes.
- Make an eco-friendly idol at home: The pandemic has changed the way the festivals are celebrated. With distancing protocols in place, many of us cannot bring in idols and celebrate grand festivals at the household level. This Navratri you can make your idol in an eco-friendly way with tools like water, toothpicks, pencils, or even pen nibs and terracotta clay, easily purchased at local potters or stationery stores.
- Celebrate with your neighbors: You can celebrate this Navratri with your neighbors by putting on your home speakers and play Garba in small groups (keeping six feet apart, of course) Try to make it as safe and ecofriendly as possible. You can distribute the prasad in our disposable bagasse bowls and enjoy the essence of the festival.
- Share food with neighbors: Indian festivals are incomplete without all the feasting. This Navratri share your special dishes with your neighbors in our biodegradable containers like disposable plates & bowls, clamshell boxes or disposable tiffin boxes. Even if 9 of your neighbors agree to such kind of arrangement, you can have new dishes throughout the 9 days of Navratri.
- Practice kindness: Donate your old clothes or distribute free meals to the needy in our organic biodegradable boxes.
- Take a daily inventory: Navratri, when translated into English, literally means nine nights. The night is a time for relaxation and rejuvenation of the mind and the body. Similarly, Navratri is the resting time for the spirit inside you. Close your day, every day, with a positive acknowledgment of something you accomplished, learned, or are grateful for. It will help dilute some of the negativity you’ve absorbed and reminded you that not everything that’s happening is bad or depressing.
- Enjoy mouth-watering dishes by home-chefs: If you are still not feeling comfortable from ordering outside vendors, you can enjoy a whole new culinary experience that has emerged during this pandemic. There are a number of talented home chefs providing a variety of cuisines as per regional taste and preferences. Do look for the Ecoware mark, certifying that the particular vendor is using sustainable means and system to run their business in an eco-friendly manner.
People celebrate Navratri as a symbol of “Victory of Good over Evil”. In today’s world this evil presents itself in many forms such as pollution, unnecessary wastage, and even the excessive use of plastic. This Navratri we must start with some good deeds to overcome such evil by using eco-friendly products that will help us preserve our mother earth and provide a greener future for the next generation.
Every festival is meant to be celebrated with great spirits and our way is to celebrate Navratri 2020 in an ecofriendly and wholesome manner. We are committed to keeping our surroundings clean, green and healthy by providing better alternatives for your everyday consumption choices. To check out the whole range of biodegradable ecofriendly products, visit our website www.ecoware.in.
