Rituals
Navratri: What You Actually Need
Nine days, one setup, and the handful of things that get used up along the way.
Navratri catches people out because the setup happens once and the consuming items run for nine days. Plan for both separately.
The setup
Kalash and coconut, mango leaves, a chowki and cloth, the idol or picture, and a lamp that can stay lit. This is bought once and used for the whole period, so it is worth buying well.
The daily part
Oil and wicks are what actually run out. Nine days of a lamp morning and evening needs far more than most people set aside. Camphor, agarbatti and prasad ingredients go the same way.
Ashtami and Navami
If you are doing kanya puja, the count matters. Plan the gifts, the food and the seating for the number you have invited, not the number you hope for — and buy that on day one, not day seven.
Buying it as one kit
Our Navratri kits split exactly this way: a setup box and a nine-day consumables box, so you are not rationing oil by the sixth evening.
