The festival of Navratri is one of the most happening festivals in different regions of Goa. In Goa, there is a unique celebration in temples known as Makharotsav held during Navratri. The temples celebrate the nine days with late evening aarti to conduct the Makar ceremony in the night, where a hanging well decorated altar with the deity is swayed according to the music, beginning gently with front and back motion followed by great gusto in rotatory motions as the tempo of the chants increase.
Most temples celebrate Makharutsav for nine days while few temples celebrate it on the tenth and eleventh day too. Dr Kiran Bhat, an associate professor at Goa Management Institute, Sanquelim says, “Navratris are the nine nights preceding the festival of Dusshera or Dasra. Every temple has a different way of celebrating the festival. The Makhar or altar is traditionally a beautifully carved wooden altar and is cleaned and kept ready at least 10-15 days before the festival and placed in the temple on the first day of Navratri. The deity is placed in the Makhar and the evening begins with Kirtans a couple of hours before the Makhar aarti. The vehicle or vhaan is changed everyday including the saris and other decoration. It includes a lot of artistry. Even the temples play different musical instruments for the Makhar aarti."
Nitin Mardolkar, an Indian classical musician and a resident of Mardol informs, "The Makharotsav in Mardol is nearly 450 years old as the temple was built in the 15th century during the Portuguese era when the temple was shifted from Verna to Mardol. Most temples were built in Ponda when the idols were relocated. This is a very unique celebration in Goa for Navratri. Devotees especially worship that particular God as Kul devta or the family God, make it a point to visit the temple during these nine days of celebrations. There a kirtans sung every evening and different cultural programmes too. Most families follow a vegetarian diet for the ten days culminating with Dusshera."