Navratri Puja weekend: Schools in Kerala to be closed for three days

Thiruvananthapuram: Schoolchildren in Kerala will enjoy three consecutive holidays next weekend, with the state government declaring a holiday on October 11. According to the academic calendar, October 12 has been designated a holiday for all educational institutions in the state for Mahanavami. October 13 is a Sunday.

Ayudha Puja, which is observed as part of the Navratri festivities, takes place during this time. On Durgashtami day, students and professionals will clean and decorate their textbooks, tools, machinery, and vehicles, setting them up at temples or in their prayer rooms at home in a ritual known as "Pooja Veyp" (offering materials for veneration). The books and tools are placed in front of a lit lamp on Mahanavami day and retrieved on Vijayadashami day after prayers and blessings from priests for "Vidyarambha."

Although the academic calendar marks October 11 as Durgashtami, October 12 as Mahanavami, and October 13 as Vijayadashami, this year, according to the lunar calendar, Ashtami will occur on the evening of October 10, when the "Pooja Veyp" ritual will be held.

At the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple in Karnataka, Mahanavami will be observed on October 11 and Vidyarambha on October 12. However, Malayalam calendars mark Vijayadashami on October 13, considering "nazhika" (a traditional unit of time measurement equal to 24 minutes used by astrologers in Kerala).

In effect, Kerala students will place their texts for Pooja on Thursday evening and retrieve them on Sunday for Vidyarambha. The holiday declaration for Thursday, October 11, was made in response to a call from the National Teachers Union (NTU).