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.
