Nine nights of worship to the Devi in her nine forms (Navadurga), kept with fasting and evening aarti. Bengal calls this Vasanti Puja — the original seasonal Durga worship, distinct from the larger autumn Durga Puja, which legend traces to an akal bodhan, an untimely invocation Rama himself is said to have performed before his battle with Ravana.
चैत्र शुक्ल प्रतिपदा – नवमी
The nine forms invoked across the nine nights are, in order, Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri — each linked to a specific color worn on its day in some regional traditions.
A kalash is installed on the first day, ghatasthapana, and kept beside a lit lamp through all nine nights in many homes. A pot of barley seeds, jowara, is grown alongside and its sprouts distributed as blessing at the close.