Navratri (nav - ratri) or nine nights of the Goddess starts today and ends next Wednesday on Oct 24. Generally Navratri is seen as a festival of women, where Hindu women will flock to temples attired in their finest clothes. From what I have been told, Navratri is considered very important to married Hindu women, it is the time of the year (though not the only time of the year) when they will pray for the well being of their families, the longevity of their husbands, the welfare of their children, good fortune, prosperity etc. As for unmarried women, they will pray to the Goddess for a fine husband. Once they are married, because I doubt the Goddess would disappoint her devotees, they will pray for all the things listed in the paragraph above, as such the happy circle of life will continue. I would like to humbly say that I am no expert on Hinduism, but I do voraciously read everything that I can lay my hands on, offline and online. Based on what I have read thus far, it