Navaratri 2026 – Tritiya: Pink Roses and Langar at the Temple

Navaratri 2026  ·  Tritiya  ·  October 13, 2026

My alarm woke me up early in the morning at 6 am, and soon after, I left for my morning walk. It was a beautiful dawn: a bluish, pink, yellowish sky strewn with grey clouds scattered across the horizon.

October 13th was an eventful day. The whole day I was busy taking care of my clients’ needs and requirements.

Tritiya and the Three Worlds

It was a special day, Tritiya, the third day of Navaratri, Ma Durga’s celebration. It has another very important significance: there are three gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer of the universe), and there are three worlds, triloka: the earth, the universe above and the underworld. To me it means that triloka is in the palm of my hands, because Ma gave me the opportunity to serve Her on Tritiya. I had to get ready and reach the temple on time, as I was the langar (dinner) host of the evening.

Pink Roses on the B Train

As I boarded the B train, my fellow passenger was holding a bouquet of pink roses. I asked him if he was carrying the bouquet for his sweetheart and he responded that it was for his mom. How apt on Ma Durga’s special day: beautiful flowers for Mom. His bouquet reminded me of how I met Melvin twenty-one years ago, in February 1998, holding a bouquet of pink roses for my friends in Queens.

He was a nice guy who not only allowed me to take his picture with the bouquet of pink roses, but was also kind enough to snap my picture.

Durga Puja and Langar at the Temple

I reached the temple right on time at 6 pm and participated in the Durga puja sitting on the floor, which was not an easy task for me. My knees and feet were still swollen from all the travel to Portugal, so bending my knees to sit on the floor was quite something. People in the temple kept asking me if I would prefer to participate in the prayer seated on a chair, but that was not acceptable to me. I wanted to offer prayers in the proper manner, even though I’m a bit klutzy. At one point, while offering the prayer, I toppled Goddess Durga’s miniature image in front of me. One of the guys in the temple came to my rescue and made sure that I don’t end up disrespecting the deities. I was just trying to offer my homage to them. But I am a bit klutzy.

I managed to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh and Ma Durga properly. Then offer a chunari to Ma Durga. It was quite something to stand up close ro Ma Durga to offer the red chunari with glittering gold lace on it. After the prayers, everyone joined for langar. Since I was the host, I offered water to all the visitors who were having langar prasad. I was the last one to eat langar that day. Rita, Sonia and Radhika, the three forms of Ma Durga personified, (Uma, Lakshmi and Saraswati) were kind enough to prepare the langar and serve the food. They packed food for me to take home. I came home that night with both my hands full of Ma Durga’s offerings. How blessed I am indeed!