Tuesday, November 1, 2016

NAVRATRI FESTIVAL Raas Dandia Garba




NAVRATRI FESTIVAL

Ambe Mata Ki Jai 


Click for Video




In Gujarati, there is a saying that goes like

'jyan jyan vase Gujarati, tyan sada kaal Gujarat’. jay jay garvi gujarat...

Originating as devotional Garba dances, which were always performed in Durga's honour, this dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between the Goddess and Mahishasura, the mighty demon-king, and is nicknamed "The Sword Dance". During the dance, dancers energetically whirl and move their feet and arms in a complicated, choreographed manner to the tune of the music with various rhythms. The dhol is used as well as complementary percussion instruments such as the dholak, tabla, bongos and others.
The sticks (dandiyas) of the dance represent the swords of Durga. The women wear traditional dresses such as colorful embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas (traditional attire) dazzling with mirror work and heavy jewelry. The men wear special turbans and kedias, but this varies regionally.
Garba is performed before Aarti (worshipping ritual) as devotional performances in the honor of the Goddess, while Dandiya is performed after it, as a part of merriment. Men and women join in for Dandiya Raas, and also for the Garba. The circular movements of Dandiya Raas are much more complex than those of Garba. The origin of these dance performances or Raas is Krishna. Today, Raas is not only an important part of Navratri in Gujarat, but extends itself to other festivals related to harvest and crops as well. The Mers of Saurastra are noted to perform Raas with extreme energy and vigor.
Raas or Dandiya Raas is the traditional folk dance form of Gujarat, India, and is associated with scenes of Holi, and lila of Krishna and Radha at Vrindavan. Along with Garba, it is the featured dance of Navratri evenings in Western India. During Navratri festival, in most of the cities of Gujarat people gather and perform Garba dance - an event that is becoming increasingly popular in countries with large Gujarati-speaking communities around the world, such as Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The word "Raas" comes from the Sanskrit word "Rasa". The origins of Raas can be traced to ancient times. Lord Krishna performed Rasa lila" (Lila means Lord Krishna's playful dance. The word "Laika" also refers to things that God does that we fully understand).
There are several forms of Raas, but "Dandiya Raas", performed during Navaratri in Gujarat is the most popular form. Other forms of Raas include Dang Lila from Rajasthan where only one large stick is used, and "Rasa lila" from North India. Raas Lila and Dandiya Raas are similar. Some even consider "Garba" as a form of Raas, namely "Raas Garba".
In Dandiya Raas men and women dance in two circles, with sticks in their hands.
The women wear traditional dresses such as colorful embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas, which is the traditional attire, dazzling with mirror work and heavy jewelry. The men wear special turbans and kedias, but can range from area to area. The dancers whirl and move their feet and arms in a choreographed manner to the tune of the music with a lot of drum beats. The dhol is used as well as complementary percussion instruments such as the dholak, tabla, etc. the true dance gets extremely complicated and energetic. Both of these dances are associated with the time of harvest.
We are playing Raas Dandia Garba every year around 15 nights in BAYAREA around San Jose, California, USA.
In 2015 we played 17 Nights and this year 2016 we played 15 Nights .Start with Garba  Be Taali, Garba Tran Taali, Raas ,Sanedo ,Hinch and Amo Kaka Bapa Na Poriya Re Kundaliyu Kheladu.
2016 we played during Navratri at GCABAYAREA, BAYVP, SUNNYVLAE HINDU TEMPLE, At Santa Clara Fairground in San Jose.
Me and my wife love to play Raas Dandia and Garba together from Start to Finish every time.
Getting dress up for the Navratri festival by arranging  Dress and Jewelry-MkaeUp  taking photographs before Gaba and   taking Video during Garba.
I have taken few video for Viewers which is publish for public on YOUTUBE at
From video you can see the enjoyment during playing Garba by everyone and proves that “'jyan jyan vase Gujarati, tyan sada kaal Gujarat”, which means that no matter where the Gujarati people live, there lives a 'Gujarat' in their hearts, forever.
 Watch us in Action…….
we celebrate all the festival in Bay area, California, USA.

No comments: