April 05, 2014: Festive fervour gripped India as thousands of Hindus begin the nine-day fasting festival ‘Navratri’ on Monday. Devotees across the country converged on river banks and queued up at temples chanting hymns and offering special prayers. The festival lasts for nine days in honour of nine manifestations of Durga, goddess of power. Priests in Varanasi performed a yoga exercise, suryanamaskar (sun salutation), to pay obeisance to Sun God on the auspicious festival. Devotees also converged at various temples in New Delhi, prominent among them being Jhandewalan Temple to offer prayers prior to dawn and observed fast throughout the day.