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WHEN peacocks dance, the frogs croak, the birds call out in varied tones, rains are over and the winter has not begun, it is time for Garba. Come the first night of the Hindu lunar month of Ashwin, it is the beginning of Navratri, the festival of nine nights. Costumed boys and girls, men and women, descend on the streets singing and dancing, bedecked in all finery. The merrymaking takes place just anywhere: in clubs, schools, and colleges, on temporary stages on the streets and in public parks. This mood of revelry and celebration continues during Navratri, and concludes on Vijaya Dashami when Goddess Durga is said to have defeated demon Mahisasura. The Navratri also celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. The dances usually take place around a mandvi, an oil lamp placed in an earthen pot, the sacred light of knowledge. It is pierced with holes so that the glow is seen all around. The lamp also represents the divine goddess, the mother of the universe. The best-known dances are the garba (for women) and garbi (for men) performed in a circle with the dancers either clapping their hands and or striking small sticks to the beats of music. The dances usually commence late in the night and continue until early morning, testifying to their great popularity. As they whirl in dance, clapping the palms or beating sticks on each other, the flame sheds its lustre scattering the light in every direction.
According to Mrinalini Sarabhai, an authority on folk dances of Gujarat and an eminent classical dancer herself, the word Garbo was first used by the well-known poet Narsi Mehta, who lived from 1415 to 1460. According to Meera Menon of Shree Payal institute of Folk Dances Ahmedabad, the garba gets its name from the perforated, illuminated pot called garbi that is placed on the floor of every home during navratri. Traditionally, the garbi pot was lit on the first night of navratri as a tribute to the female power or Shakti, and the members of the family would dance around it. Over a period of time, it became a social and community activity with entire neighbourhoods joining in. The most common form of public celebration is the performance of garba or dandiya ras (stick dance), Gujarat’s popular folk-dances, late throughout the nights of these nine days in public squares, open grounds and streets. The costume worn for the dances is traditional and alive with colour. Women wear ethnic chania choli, and enjoy garba and dandiya ras. The participants move round in a circle around the mandvi. A singer and a drummer provide the musical accompaniment, as the dancers whirl around the mandvi, clapping. The dance usually starts slowly. It gets faster and faster as the music too gets more rapid until the dance abruptly comes to a halt. There is a pause for a while and the dance commences once again, the singer leading with a new song. In stick-dance, men and women join the dance circle, holding small polished sticks or dandiyas. As they whirl to the intoxicating rhythm of the dance, men and women, strike the dandiyas together, adding to the joyous atmosphere. So popular are the garba and the dandiya ras that competitions are held to assess the quality of the dancing. Prizes are given to those judged to be the best. Most Gujarati films have a garba. However, the best was shown in the Hindi film Saraswatichandra. — Photos by the writer |
