Bhubaneswar: As Navratri enters its fifth day, devotees worship Goddess Skandamata with pomp and gaiety. She is depicted as riding a fierce lion, carrying six-faced infant Lord Kartikey on her lap. She is seated on lotus in a state of meditation. She holds lotus flowers in her upper hands while keeping the right hand in Abhaya Mudra. Mata Skandamata is believed to govern Budha (planet Mercury). Devotees revere Maa Skandamata by chanting this mantra: Om Devi Skandamatayai Namah and offering red flowers.
Devi Skandamata depicts the motherly nature of Goddess Durga. She showers her worshippers with motherly feelings. She is the Goddess of endurance and her worship leads to peace, harmony, prosperity and salvation. Orissa POST interacted with a few devotees and puja organisers to know more about the significance and importance of the 
day of Navratri.
Akhilesh Pallei, one of the members of Choudhury Bazar Durga Puja Committee in Cuttack, said: “At my place, my grandmother who is 87 still does the Navratri puja with much devotion and regulation. At our home, the morning Arati of Maa Durga takes place at 4 AM and all the family members participate in it. As Skandamata is the eternal mother with Kartikeya on her lap, my mother Abhilasini Pallei performs puja with all of us seated beside her. On the fifth day, we are draped in orange attire which is the favorite colour of Skandamata”.
Narendra Bhai, a Gujarati shopkeeper at Unit 1 market, said, “It’s the Bhaktibhava that matters in observing Navratri. Skandamata loves banana; so my wife and I prepare a Kele Ka Shira, a sweet dish as prasad, which we distribute to small children after puja. We do perform Garba in the late evening by giving Aarti to Mata Rani; we also dress up in colourful attires and Pagadi”.
Saiyantani Ganguly, a student of KIIT University, said, “My mother Mrinali and my father Abhishek Ganguly have been celebrating Navratri for the last 20 years. So, as worshippers of Goddess Durga we believe in Navratri and our home becomes the hub of Durga Puja up to Dasami. My mother does the Patha of Durga Saptasati and Mata Skandamata’s chanting fills our Pada or locality. Such is the festive atmosphere back in my home at Kolkata”.
Giribala Mohanty, a homemaker and resident of Bapuji Nagar, said, “Durga Shahasra Naam is chanted throughout the day at my home and a priest is invited to perform special Aarti for Maa Durga.”
Mitali Bhaskar, another devotee, said, “We follow the Prasad Mela where all the families put their thalis in queue to be offered to the Goddess. One will be in awe of the plates which are somewhere around 250 in numbers or more. I have gifted Giribala Moti earrings and Kumkum which is a tradition with us. I am hoping to feast on Kuttu ki Roti, Jalebi, Kela and some Gate ki Sabji”. Mitali, a friend of Giribala and a native of Rajasthan, has settled in Bhubaneswar.
