India gears up to celebrate Navratri 2017

Celebrated all across India, Navratri is a multi-day Hindu festival that takes place in autumn every year. (Photo: AP. PTI)

Indian artists perform during an inauguration function for the Hindu festival Navratri in Ahmadabad (Photo: AP)

Women wearing traditional attire practice Garba, a dance of Gujarat. The brightly coloured ethnic wear is a perfect foil to the traditional quirky beats of the dance. (Photo: AP)

Devotee pays obeisance at a historical temple on the first day of the nine-day long Navratri festival in Amritsar. (Photo: PTI)

Devotees wait to worship at Goddess Shila Mata Temple at the historic Amer Fort on the occasion of 'Navratri Festival' in Jaipur. (Photo: PTI)

Artists perform during a procession on the occasion of the first day of Navratri festival at Katra, about 45 kms from Jammu (Photo: PTI)

Priests perform rituals as the scion of the Mysore royal family, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar holds private durbar at Mysuru Palace on the first day of the Navaratri celebrations. (Photo: PTI)

Pilgrims on their way to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple on the occasion of the first day of Navratri festival. (Photo: PTI)

Devotees take part in a "Kalash Yatra" on the first day of Navratri festival in Surat. (Photo: PTI)

An illuminated view of Jhandewalan Temple during the first day of the Navratri festival in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)