Navratri at Pragma: Colours, Gifts & Garba

It was the first morning of Navratri.
The office smelled of fresh coffee, someone had already hung a string of marigolds near the entrance, and the team group chat was busy with just one question: “What colour are we wearing tomorrow?”
Then our project manager walked in with a different kind of news.
“The client wants the website live on the ninth day.”
For a moment, nobody said anything. Nine days. A full website. A festival right in the middle of it.
Then someone broke the silence: “Well, I guess it’s Garba and deployments this week.”
Everyone laughed. Then they opened their laptops.
This is the story of those nine days.

Day 1 – Maa Shailputri: Starting on Solid Ground

The first thing the team did wasn’t code. It was a checklist. Server settings, access, environments, and a release plan written down step by step.

It felt slow. By Day 9, everyone would be glad it existed.

Day 2 – Maa Brahmacharini: The Bug

On Day 2, the bug arrived. The menu broke, but only on Safari, and only on smaller screens.

Our developer tried one fix, then another. By evening, he was still at it. The next afternoon, over a cup of tea and a chat with a colleague, the answer finally clicked.

Day 3 – Maa Chandraghanta: Saying It Early

In stand-up, our designer said the words nobody enjoys saying: “I’m blocked. I still don’t have the final content.”

Our project manager called the client that morning, explained the risk, and had the content by the afternoon. One honest sentence saved two days.

Day 4 – Maa Kushmanda: A Better Idea

While testing the enquiry form, our QA lead asked, “What happens if someone clicks Submit twice?”

Two enquiries were sent. The team didn’t just fix it. The designer reworked the button to show a clear “Sending...” message, and the form ended up better than the original plan.

Day 5 – Maa Skandamata: The First Pull Request

Our newest developer opened her first pull request on the project. Instead of a list of blunt comments, a senior colleague pulled up a chair and walked through each change with her, explaining the why behind it.

Her next pull request needed half the comments.

Day 6 – Maa Katyayani: 9 PM

Around 9 pm, a staging deployment failed. The issue wasn’t in anyone’s assigned ticket.

One developer still jumped on a call, traced it, fixed it, and left a note in the team channel explaining what happened. Nobody asked him to. That’s ownership.

Day 7 – Maa Kalaratri: “I Think That Was Me”

On Day 7, the image gallery stopped loading. Before the search even began, a developer spoke up: “I think that was my change.”

Ten minutes later, it was fixed. Nobody blamed anyone. The team added a test so it wouldn’t happen again.

Day 8 – Maa Mahagauri: Clear Heads

The day before launch, the team slowed down instead of rushing. Every remaining task was written clearly: what to change, where, and how to test it.

No vague “fix the button” tickets. Just calm, focused work.

Day 9 – Maa Siddhidatri: Go-Live

On the ninth day, the website went live. The team watched quietly for the first hour.

Then the email came: “Looks great. Thank you, team.”

And Then, the Celebration

Hoodies made way for traditional outfits. Laptops closed a little early. There were festive gifts, lots of photos, and Garba from people we’d never seen dance before, including the developer who fixed that 9 pm deployment.

It was a reminder that the people behind the tickets, reviews, and late-night fixes are what really make the work happen.

Nine days. Nine strengths. One launch, and one team that showed up for each other.

Happy Navratri from Team Pragma!