FASTS, FEASTS AND FESTIVITY

From pandal feasts to saatvik plates, the capital embraces every flavour of festivity

- VERNIKA AWAL

THE festive season has arrived, and with it the bustle of family plans and the ritual of deep cleaning at home. Food, of course, sits at the heart of it all—and here, the divide is clear. Some fast. Others feast.

Navratri, the nine-day holy period in the Hindu calendar, gives food a dual role: ritual and preparation. For elders, fasting is more than devotion. It is a pause from the regular diet, a way to cleanse the body and ready it for the north’s biting winters.

But Delhi and its satellite towns tell a different story. The National Capital Region is a cultural melting pot, and the presence of a large Bengali community means this season is as much about indulgence as restraint.