My ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE Indian festival was finally here this past weekend!
Navratri is a Hindu festival of worship of Shakti and dance & festivities. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped.
Navratri festival in Gujarat is one of the main festivals. Garba is dance which people use to dance after the Durga Pooja with the groups and live orchestra or devotional songs.
Garba is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garbha ("womb") and Deep("a small earthenware lamp"). Many traditional garbas are performed around a central lit lamp or picture/statues of different avatars of Goddess Shakti. The circular and spiral figures of Garba have similarities to other spiritual dances, such as those of Sufi culture.
Both men and women usually wear colorful costumes while performing garba and dandiya. The girls and the women wear Chaniya choli, a three-piece dress with a choli, a chaniya, as the flared, skirt-like bottom, and dupatta, which is usually worn in the traditional Gujarati manner. Chaniya Cholis are decorated with beads, shells, mirrors, sitaras, and embroidery work, mati, Traditionally, women adorn themselves with jhumkas, necklaces, bindi, bajubandh, chudas and kangans, kamarbandh, payal, and mojiris. Boys and men wear kafni pyjamas with a kediyu - a short round kurta - above the knees and pagadi on the head with bandhini dupatta, kada, and mojiris.
Navratri is a Hindu festival of worship of Shakti and dance & festivities. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped.
Navratri festival in Gujarat is one of the main festivals. Garba is dance which people use to dance after the Durga Pooja with the groups and live orchestra or devotional songs.Garba is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garbha ("womb") and Deep("a small earthenware lamp"). Many traditional garbas are performed around a central lit lamp or picture/statues of different avatars of Goddess Shakti. The circular and spiral figures of Garba have similarities to other spiritual dances, such as those of Sufi culture.
Modern garba is also heavily influenced by raas, a dance traditionally performed by men. The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy dance that is seen today.
Both men and women usually wear colorful costumes while performing garba and dandiya. The girls and the women wear Chaniya choli, a three-piece dress with a choli, a chaniya, as the flared, skirt-like bottom, and dupatta, which is usually worn in the traditional Gujarati manner. Chaniya Cholis are decorated with beads, shells, mirrors, sitaras, and embroidery work, mati, Traditionally, women adorn themselves with jhumkas, necklaces, bindi, bajubandh, chudas and kangans, kamarbandh, payal, and mojiris. Boys and men wear kafni pyjamas with a kediyu - a short round kurta - above the knees and pagadi on the head with bandhini dupatta, kada, and mojiris.There is a huge interest in Garba amongst the youth of the Indian and in particular Gujarati diaspora. Garba and Dandiya Raas are popular in the United States where more than 20 universities have Raas Garba competitions on a huge scale every year with professional choreography.
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| Before the big night. |
I enjoy Garba with a burning passion! I look forward to this day every year. This year, I brought along my friend Kaylyn. I was happy to see that she picked up the steps very quickly! I've won the Garba competition the past three years in a row! Although we got home at almost 2:30 am, it was totally worth it. Here are some highlights from the evening.
The Competition! :)
I can't wait till next year!
***Kaylyn took a close-up video of the competition as well. I'll post it as soon as I can!
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