In the middle of the night, the rectangular hall at Shree Madura Gujarati Samaj is brightly lit. The serial lights on the ceiling blink above the decorated Garba placed in the centre of the hall. Vasantha and her friends sit down to sing bhajans from the ‘ Umiya Bhajan Mangali’ , a collection of Gujarati folk songs invoking Goddess Durga. As few young Samaj members play the harmonium, drums and the keyboard, the Navaratri Garba dance starts!
Women pour into the hall, take positions, shake a leg to the beats and clap hands to the rhythms. As they dance around the Garba, the mirrors on their chaniya cholis glitter in the lights, the elaborate ghagras in yellow and red spread out showing the hand-stitched pleats and gathers in detail. In no time it is a riot of colours.
The Madura Gujarati Samaj has been organising Garba Dandiya raas every Navaratri for the past 50 years. Around 300 closely knit families from the community pool in to make it a success and their enthusiasm has been simply soaring by the year. Far from their home-state Gujarat, they make sure to bring a slice of it to Madurai during these nine days. “Unlike the modernised dandiya nights that are famous in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, we keep it traditional and simple, the way navaratri is celebrated in the hinterland of Gujarat,” says Ashwin, a member of the Samaj.
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“Garba is basically a set of nine decorated pots kept in the centre, symbolising nav-durga. Sometimes people also keep idols of the Goddess,” explains Bhavana, a Gujarati settled in Madurai. “The eighth and ninth days are most important and that’s when the dandiya raas goes on till dawn.” Rekha Patel, who moved to the temple town from Ahmedabad six years ago, felt a fish-out-of-water initially. “Back there, the event is bigger and there’s lot of experimentation. Women and men engage in practice months before and disco dandiyas are common,” says Rekha. “Nevertheless, I like the Madurai dandiya. It’s brief and energetic.”
Most of them never miss to buy ghagra cholis and sherwanis on their visit to Gujarat. Navaratri is the time, when they bring out the best from their wardrobes and flaunt it on the dance floor. “We don’t get the Kutchi clothes here. Kutchi embroidery is hand-made with colourful threads, mirrors, beads and little shells. This kind of cholis are considered auspicious for the occasion,” says Rajesh Desai. “Men, however, tend to wear kurta and shirts more now over sherwanis.”
The elderly are more interested in the Garba while the youth take to the dandiya sticks striking them in sync with the beats. Ashwin believes it is good exercise and a stress-buster too. “Dancing during Navaratri reduces at least a kilo or two,” he wows.
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The garba dandiya is done in continuous sessions as children, youths, and even the elderly mingle with a flair to stir up the atmosphere.
As the tempo slowly increases, they all sweat it out repeating the steps. Some opt out for a break while more join after the gala dinner. The singer finishes it with a ‘Jai ambe’ , only to resume minutes later. In other words, it is absolutely mesmerising.