Navratri 2027 dates (30 Sep–8 Oct), garba nights and how to join in the Netherlands

What is Navratri?

Navratri means "nine nights" in Sanskrit. The nights belong to the goddess: each one goes to one of Durga's nine forms, together the Navadurga, and behind them stands shakti, the divine feminine energy. The tenth day, Vijayadashami or Dussehra, then celebrates good beating evil.

Of the four Navaratris in the Hindu calendar, two are widely kept: the one in the autumn month of Ashvin (September or October), the most celebrated, and the one in Chaitra, in spring (March or April).

Some communities split the nine nights into three groups of three: the first for Durga, the next for Lakshmi and the last for Saraswati. Many devotees fast; how the nights are filled otherwise differs by region.

When is Navratri in 2027?

Autumn Navratri begins on Thursday 30 September 2027 and its ninth day, Maha Navami, is Friday 8 October. Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is Saturday 9 October, the day after the ninth night. In New Delhi the nights also start on 30 September and Dussehra is also 9 October; there Durga Visarjan, the immersion of the images, follows on Sunday 10 October.

The date follows the Hindu lunar calendar, so it shifts against the ordinary calendar every year. In 2026 the first night was Sunday 11 October; in 2027 it comes eleven days earlier.

Communities count the final days a little differently. Bengali Vijayadashami, which ends Durga Puja, is Sunday 10 October in Kolkata; for the Netherlands it is Saturday 9 October.

Garba and dandiya raas: what is the difference?

The first thing you notice at a garba night is the circle. Dancers form rings, sometimes several inside one another, around a centre that holds either a clay pot with holes and a lit lamp inside or a picture of the goddess Amba. They move anticlockwise, clapping along with the singing, slowly at first and faster as the night builds. That is garba, a dance from Gujarat; UNESCO put it on its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2023.

Dandiya raas, a related dance from Gujarat and Rajasthan, uses sticks. Dancers stand in two facing lines with a pair of wooden dandiya each, strike them against their partner's to keep time, then shift along to a new partner. In the story told at Navratri the sticks are Durga's swords and the clatter is her fight with the demon Mahishasura.

At most nights the two run into each other: dandiya raas, once mainly a men's dance, shaped modern garba, and it is usually played towards the end of the evening. The Gujarati Samaj Netherlands programme combines an aarti to Amba Maa with both dances.

Durga Puja and other ways to keep the nine nights

Garba and dandiya are how many Gujarati communities keep Navratri, not how everyone does. In West Bengal, Assam and Odisha the same season is Durga Puja. Communities place clay images of Durga in decorated pandals, the main worship falls on the last days, dhak drums beat for dhunuchi dances, and on Vijayadashami the images are immersed in water.

In southern India, Ayudha Puja honours Saraswati and the tools and weapons of tradespeople and warriors. In northern India, Ram Lila plays out Rama's victory over Ravana, which Dussehra marks.

Bengali families near Amsterdam have gathered to celebrate Durga Puja together in Amstelveen for about ten years.

Navratri in the mandirs and at home

Inside a Hindu home or a mandir, Navratri looks different from a garba hall: the attention goes to the goddess, and the nine days are given to prayer and fasting. Plenty of families also hold a Durga Puja, usually at home. In the Netherlands the festival comes round twice a year, in spring and in autumn.

Mandir Triloki Dhaam in Eindhoven describes the nine nights as a time to worship Durga, either at home or in the mandir, with yagyas (sacred fire rituals) and the option to fast. Fasting comes in degrees: you can go without food altogether or keep to light vegetarian food, no more than two small meals a day, and leave out garlic and onion. Mandirs and calendars in the Netherlands do not always land on the same days, so check with your own mandir.

You may also come across the spelling Nauratri, for instance on the Mandir Triloki Dhaam page and in the archive of the former Hindu broadcaster OHM.

Garba nights in the Netherlands

The Gujarati Samaj Netherlands (GSNL) put on three Saturday nights in 2026, each from 17:00 to 22:30: Aalsmeer on 10 October (Sporthal de Bloemhof), Vianen, listed as Utrecht, on 17 October (Helsdingen Sport en Cultuur) and Veldhoven, for Eindhoven, on 24 October (Atalanta Sportcentrum). It was the 12th year of GSNL's Dandiya and Garba programme and the fourth in Eindhoven.

The Bridging the Gap Foundation, a Dutch-Indian network founded in 2009, held a Garba Dandiya Night at Emergo hal in Amstelveen on Saturday 10 October 2026 from 17:00, and another at ZIMIHC theater Stefanus in Utrecht on Sunday 11 October from 14:00 to 22:00. It also hosted the Utrecht night in October 2023.

In Almere, Stichting Indian Summer Festival held its night on Saturday 17 October 2026, from 18:00 to 22:30 at the Oostvaarders College in Almere-Buiten, with garba, dandiya and Indian food.

The 2027 nights have not been announced yet. The list of events on this page fills up as organisers publish them.

What to wear to a garba night

The traditional dress for garba is the chaniya choli for women and the kediyu for men. You do not need to own either: the organiser of the Almere night said that traditional Indian outfits were welcome, but that coming as you were was fine too.

How to join in

The Gujarati Samaj Netherlands and Bridging the Gap sell tickets online, and prices differ per organiser. For an idea of the pattern, the Bridging the Gap night in Utrecht in 2023 cost €16 from age 12 and €11 for ages 5 to 11, with children under 5 free.

You do not have to know the steps. The Gujarati Samaj Netherlands says its nights are open to everyone, that you will pick up the dance by listening to the music, and that volunteers help. Its evenings include a traditional aarti to Amba Maa and prizes to win, and the Aalsmeer and Vianen nights added dhol beats. Bring family and friends.

The Almere night described itself as open to all ages and levels. At the Amstelveen night, stalls sold food, drinks, snacks and gifts, paid for separately.