Has the dance bug in you become activated? Blame it on the festive spirit. Yes, Navratri is here and so is the time to take out your chaniya cholis, kediyus and dandiya sticks. The cosmopolitan city that Bengaluru is offers you enough options to dance the festive season away.
If traditional dandiya is your preference then you can go to Shree Indiranagar Gujarati Association Navratri Utsav being celebrated at MLR Convention Centre in Whitefield. One of the oldest Gujarati Associations in the city, in its initial years, it held the yearly celebrations in member’s houses in Indiranagar. Now with 150 families on board, the 30-year-old association has moved to a spacious place and is expecting about 4,000 people. A live orchestra and singer Ekta Shah, who is considered the Phalguni Pathak of Bengaluru, will make the crowd dance to some peppy Gujarati numbers. “Mostly it will be traditional songs but we also give some time to participants to do their own thing everyday on popular songs.” Tickets are priced at ₹ 250 onwards.
And don’t worry, if you don’t know how to do dandiya. “There are volunteers who will help you,” says Praful Maun, a committee member of the association. “You don’t have to worry about the sticks. We will be providing that. We are also holding two practice sessions for people to learn the basics.” And needless to say, there is a lot of food too at the venue. The guests need to bring a valid photo ID card.
While the sticks would be available at every venue, arranging for traditional dandiya garba raas might seem little problematic but it is not. There are enough options in the city which offer chaniya cholis and kediyus on rent. If you don't want to do that then you could team up a long skirt with a blouse and a heavily embellished dupatta and you will be all set.
To hone your dancing skills, you can join dandiya dance workshops started by enterprising minds in the city. Studio 5678, Arka on Thippasandra Main Road, HAL 3rd Stage is conducting two-day workshop on September 23 and 24. Fee is ₹ 600. Call : 9611466264 / 9886995400 for details.
There are a lot of malls in the city who organise dandiya raas. And this year it is Elements Mall, 100 ft, Thanisandra Main Road, Next to Hotel Howard Johnson, Near Nagavara Junction and Inorbit Mall putting up dandiya raas on September 23. Forum Neighbourhood Mall in Whitefield is also in the fray. On September 23, the participants will dance to the tunes of DJ Vipul Khurana and Zehen. For the single entry ticket priced at ₹ 499, each guest will be entitled to one pair of dandiya sticks, one pre-packed food box. Couples tickets priced at ₹ 799 includes two pair of dandiya sticks and two pre-packed food boxes.
Bounce Party App is also hosting Bounce Dandiya Night - 2017 at Elaan Convention Centre on September 23. A live DJ and Ekta Shah with her team, dhol artistes and chaat counters are the highlights of this event. Tickets are priced at ₹ 249 onwards.
Then there is Dandiya Utsav with DJs Vipul Khurana, MJ Rakesh, Dr.A and DJ Ansh at Hotel Royal Orchid’s lawns. There is a mix of Bollywood, garba and punjabi music. On September 30. Tickets are priced at ₹ 200 onwards.
