THE GOAN
PANAJI
With pictures of office groups posing together in the colour of the day flooding social media every Navratri, colour-coordinated dressing has become a familiar part of the festival. From colleagues discussing what shade to wear the next day to entire teams turning up in matching outfits, the practice has found its way into workplaces across India. But what many may not know is that this now-popular tradition began as a newspaper’s attempt to engage its readers.
In 2003, a Marathi daily introduced a day-by-day colour list during Navratri and invited readers to send in photographs of themselves wearing the designated shades. The idea was to boost readership and connect with women readers during the festival. What began as a simple newspaper initiative soon caught on beyond its pages, spreading through neighbourhoods, colleges, local trains and housing societies before making its way into offices. A campaign meant to bring readers closer to a newspaper gradually became a practice people looked forward to every year.
The idea was simple enough for people to adopt without much effort. Instead of planning elaborate celebrations, all they had to do was wear a particular colour each day. Families began coordinating outfits, friends discussed the colours in advance, and groups found another reason to come together during the nine days. As the practice spread, it became less about the newspaper that introduced it and more about the shared experience it created. The daily colour gave people a small way to participate in Navratri, even amid their usual busy routines.
The colours themselves are associated with different forms of Goddess Durga, collectively known as the Navadurga, and carry their own significance. Each day of Navratri honours a different form of the goddess, and the colours associated with the days have come to represent different qualities and emotions. Orange, associated with Goddess Shailaputri on the first day, represents energy and new beginnings, while white, linked to Brahmacharini, symbolises peace and purity. Red, associated with Chandraghanta, represents courage and power, while royal blue, linked to Kushmanda, signifies divine energy and stability.
Yellow, associated with Skandamata, represents warmth and optimism, while green, linked to Katyayani, signifies growth and harmony. Grey, associated with Kalaratri, represents resilience, while purple, linked to Mahagauri, symbolises spiritual growth and wisdom. On the ninth day, peacock green is associated with Siddhidatri and represents fulfilment and balance. While the colour associations and their interpretations may vary across regional traditions and calendars, they have become a familiar part of how many people observe Navratri today.
This is perhaps one reason why the practice has found such a comfortable place in corporate offices. With little planning required, it gives colleagues a reason to step away from their usual workwear and bring some festivity into the workplace. Teams coordinate outfits, take group photographs and share them on social media, while discussions about the next day’s colour become easy conversation starters. Even colleagues from different departments find themselves joining in, whether by wearing the same shade or gathering for a photograph.
From a newspaper campaign in 2003 to group photographs shared by offices every Navratri, the journey of the nine colours is an interesting example of how a simple idea can become part of everyday culture. What began as a way to draw readers in has grown into a tradition that brings people together, one colour at a time. And each year, as colleagues check the shade for the next day and plan what to wear, the idea continues to find new life in the most ordinary of places: the workplace.
