International significance of garba

 Navratri is a festival celebrated all across India, most prominently in Gujarat and West bengal. The colourful costumes, graceful dancing and the devotion to goddess Durga combine to create an unforgettable experience. Indian communities around the world have been  celebrating this nine-day-long festival in an attempt to keep in touch with their roots. This is  how Navratri is celebrated all over the world.
Canada 

 Indians, are the largest visible minority in Canada, celebrating the festival of Navratri with great enthusiasm. It becomes an opportunity for the entire Indian community to reconnect with their culture, strengthening bonds within the community as well. 

United States of America
From Arizona and California to Georgia and New York, Indian communities across the United States have been celebrating Navratri for many years now. The festival ushers in a wave of excitement as everyone gets ready to be a part of the traditional revelry. The exuberance of these enthusiasts as they celebrate the festival with prayers, food, music and dance. The Newark Avenue in New Jersey, where almost 15,000 people, decked in all their finery, play garba on the street all night long.
Malaysia
Navratri celebrations are held on a large scale in Malaysia. The Indian community here goes all out to celebrate the festival in its true spirit. Prayers are held on all the nine nights, followed by the singing of bhajans (devotional songs). Cultural shows are also held to educate people about the significance of this vibrant festival. However, traditional music and dance are the highlights of the festival as people wearing brightly-coloured traditional clothes take to the dance floor with great gusto. The Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Kuala Lumpur has Malaysia’s largest Navratri celebrations.

Pakistan

Believe it or not, Navratri is celebrated in Pakistan as well. Hindu communities ensure that the nine days of Navratri are full of fun and festivities. Devotional Bhajans, traditional food, music and dance comprise the celebrations here. Areas like Bahawalpur in eastern Pakistan or Hyderabad in southern Pakistan where enthusiasts wearing colourful costumes, dance to the tunes of garba music all night long. 

           Navratri celebrations outside India have managed to carry the spirit of this vivacious festival to all corners of the world. Kudos to our Indian brethren for helping the world discover India’s rich cultural legacy. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Props used while playing Garba.

Image
        Navratri is a festival which  comes with the promise of nine days of non-stop fun, dance and festivities. Garba is just not about colourful attires and dance forms , people use various props to make the dance more fun. Here are few of the props that are used while playing garba . DIYAS Garba props often involve a lot of fire because it is the festival essentially about garbha deep, which means a lamp representing life. People use LED diyas, thus painting a pretty picture on the garba grounds and yet being absolutely safe at the same time.   DANDIYA Dandiyas are the most popular props that are used. The term Dandiya Rass is  what has got garba on global map ,thus these ornamental sticks made of metal, wood, plastic or even silver,are used to play dandiya. Then there are the Raja Rani dandiyas - which have beautiful doll figures carved onto them, which add a whole new level of charm to the dance. Played in twos, dandiya inv...
Read more

Difference between Garba and Dandiya .

Image
Navratri is one of the most popular festivals in India especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The word Navratri means "Nine Nights" which are dedicated In the worship of goddess Durga. Dandiya Raas and Garba Raas are two traditional folk dance which are performed during Navratri to seek blessings of Goddess Durga. The origin of these dances can be traced back to the life of Lord Krishna.  Differences between Garba and Dandiya. Garba being played during Navratri                   Dandiya and Garba dances are performed in the honour of Goddess .But in modern India, Dandiya and Garba are considered more of cultural events than that of religious events, these dance forms have religious significance as well. Due to commercialization of these events, their religious significance has reduced.  Dandiya Rass being performed  during Navratri. The main difference between the ‘Garba’ and ‘Dandiya’ dance is that...
Read more

Evolution of Garba.

Image
  Garba is a traditional folk dance which originated at the state of Gujarat in India . Garba is the most popular women's folk dance.  Garba is performed during the nine-day hindu festival - Navratri , Holi , Basant Panchami , Sharad panchami and various other festivals . Its origin seems to be from the tribal wandering about for hunting. Since people earlier didn't know how to communicate they used the dance forms to express themselves .There was no particular step or dance move they randomly use to dance by moving their hands back and forth.  Since hunting was a life and death situation in earlier times, the tribal community celebrated through this dance form. There has been several changes in the dance pattern and today it is   famously known as Garba .Some scholars also believed that garba was an agricultural dance form adapted from the tribal community , the farmers use to perform this dance form after harvest for the year was collected .Th...
Read more