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THE most colourful event of Navaratri in Gujarat and Mumbai is the performance of Garba or Dandiya Raas, Gujarat’s popular folk-dance, throughout the nights of these nine days. Groups of young men and women dance around an earthen lamp, representing Goddess Durga, kept in a decorated mud jar called Garba, singing songs accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of hands — an expression of gratitude towards goddess Durga for saving the world from the atrocities of the Mahishasur. Dandiya Raas is
performed in groups of pairs, with a pair of sticks in their hands.
Ideally, two circles formed by men and women move in clockwise and
anti-clockwise directions with two sticks called dandiyas held in
their hands. The song sung on the occasion is essentially an amorous
one. Raas is a very energetic, colourful and playful dance providing
an opportunity for acting and exchanging messages through eye contact.
It is no wonder that many romances bloom during these
nine days and hence the popularity of the dance among the younger
generation. Garba dancers are found now in all parts of India and it is performed any time and anywhere in the country, when celebrations are called for. The new Garba trend rather favours the group of one male and one female and a modest band of around twenty participants. Garba is considered so auspicious in Gujarat that the dowry for a daughter’s marriage includes a day devoted to Garba.. Today the sentiment to dance to pious bhajans have vanished and the Dandiya Raas /Garba assemblages has become the favourite meeting places for the teenagers, bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. The most important factor of the Garba/ Dandiya Raas is the availability of suitable singers and today there are hundreds of choral groups like that of the famous Phalguni Phatak, who is reported to charge one million rupees per Navratri season of nine days. The singer Babla, who has sang at Navratris since 1982, is booked months in advance for Dandyaras celebrations organized by the Indian community in USA. Adesh Srivastava, Preeti-Pinki group, Vijay Shah are some of the favourite Dandiya Raas singers. There are dance academies in Mumbai and Ahmedabad teaching Dandiya and Garba, training thousands of would be dancers every year. The itinerary of a popular institution like the Kala-Maitri of Ahmedabad is for 15 days, during which you are taught the ‘new tricks’ to impress the audience. The steps, are a fusion of traditonal Dandiya and Garba and steps borrowed from Hindi films and disco. Some of the steps includes Lehree (wave like movements), Trikoniya (hands movement forming an imagery triangle), butterfly, janz, hudo, popatiyu, dodhiyu, simple five, simple seven, simple seven speed circle, three claps up and down single jerk, double circle and many more. This year, as the state
governments are determined to enforce the 10 pm curfew, there is
downright gloom in this Rs 1500-crore industry, which includes the
ancillary trades of apparel, artificial jewellery, food, music or
audio cassettes and event managers. In Bombay, one entrepreneur has
booked a cruise liner, where you can dance to your heart’s content
for Rs 5000 per day per dancer. Another organiser is thinking of
headphones (available on a deposit basis) to enable you to dance in
the crowd to music broadcast in FM channels. — MF |
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