Garba - The Avidity of Gujarat

A little girl. Wearing a rich coloured Chaniya Choli with Bright and vivid borders. Having colourful bangles in her tiny hands and Payal (anklets) in her mingy legs. She looks so adorable that if there is any device to measure cuteness, it will certainly explode. She is accompanied by her mother. Having equally traditional and vibrant attire. Conceptualization of these all seems beautiful, right? Now, multiply it by hundreds (or thousands in some cases) and add almost equally numbered men, who are wearing bright coloured Kedias and Dhoti, dancing and swirling simultaneously on the beats of traditional or fusion music under flashy multicolour lights. Sounds magnificent? Well, if you are in Gujarat or nearby, you can witness such astonishing view for nine nights.

Its October and the favourite festival of dance is here. Navaratri (which literally means nine nights) aka the 'Festival of Garba' is undoubtedly most favourite festival of Gujarati people especially the young generation. Though it is not limited to Gujarat and Gujarati people, but in Gujarat, the energy and excitement for Garba is on another level. Some of them started learning and practicing complex Garba steps almost 2-3 months before. And selection of traditional clothes and accessories starts at equally same time.

Some Facts and History

In Navaratri, each day we worship different avatar of Goddess Durga (or Goddess Ambe), which is pure feminine form of Shakti (Energy). Although, we all know history of battle between Maa (Mother) Durga and Demon Mahisasur behind worshipping  Maa Durga and celebration of Navaratri. Do we know the history behind Garba?

King Banasura got Varadan (boon) from Lord Shiva that he will be indestructible with his thousand arms until the arms are broken by some superior divinity. He has a daughter named Usha. And when he heard an Akashvani that grandson of Lord Krishna will marry her daughter, he kept Usha in a fort and surrounded it by Agni (fire), so no one can enter the perimeter without permission. Usha is accompanied by Chitralekha, a painter and possessor of mystical powers. One night, Usha dreamt of a prince and fell in love. Chitralekha, who wanted Usha to find her prince of dreams, started painting picture of every prince and eventually finds out that the prince Usha saw in her dream is Aniruddha, grand-son of Lord Krishna. Chitralekha, using her magical power, brought Aniruddha to the fort. When Banasura found this out, he decided to fight with Aniruddha and ask help of Lord Shiva. Aniruddha called Lord Krishna and vicious battle took place. In the battle, Aniruddha shot an arrow to Banasura and his thousand arms fell down and he was killed. Then Aniruddha and Usha got married and came to Dwarka. In Dwarka, Usha and other Gopis were taught a dance called 'Lasya Nritya' by Parvati. Then Usha practiced and popularized the form of 'Lasya Nritya'. Which is later known as Garba.

----

So why you should go to play (or at least see) Garba? Ask any of Gujarati people and they will give you hundreds of reasons. But to sum it up, here is the short list.

There will be colourful surrounding.

No matter you are a man or woman, you can't get your eyes off the gorgeous Garba outfit. As described earlier, girls in colourful Chaniya Cholis and accessories like Kandora, Jhumka, Kada, etc. look heavenly gorgeous and guys in Kediyu and Dhoti look attractive. Some groups may have matching style code. And in addition to that, there will be colourful lights too.

There will be awesome music.

Garba music are never loud. Because it touches the heart. There can be traditional as well as fusion music. Slow at the beginning and constantly ascending beat along with traditional Garba and songs will surely encourage you to dance. And it will continue for hours.

There will be dance.

Of course, Garba is a dance form so there will be dance. And the best part is, you don't need a training to get started. However, you need some practice for complex steps, simple steps are very easy to perform. You can learn it just by watching and trying them couple of times. And if you need any help, anyone will gladly assist you there.

There will be lot of energy.

Navaratri is favourite festival of Gujarat. And some (or most) people wait entire year for these nine days. So you can imagine the level of enthusiasm and energy. Moreover, there will be colourful surroundings, gorgeous girls and attractive boys dancing and swirling in unison on awesome music with traditional songs. If these all doesn't make you feel energetic, what will?

And there will be food.

Yes, Post-Garba food. or sometimes, Mid-Garba food. And after exhausting round who won't like it? You will be welcomed with delicious Gujarati food along with some other flavour. Choose your dish. You definitely need one.

-- Purvit Soni

If you like this blog, share with your friends and family. Also, let me know your views in comment section.

Jump to Blog