The entire state of Ahmedabad gets energized with the thought of celebrating the Navratri festival. Well, in this article, we will provide you with information on the Navratri festival in Ahmedabad, India.
Navratri Festival of Ahmedabad is celebrated with great pomp and grandeur and festive spirits engulf the city of Ahmedabad during the span of these 9 days and every year people from different communities and social strata come forward to celebrate this few days of festivities in its true spirits. Ahmedabad is one of the perfect places in India to get engrossed in the joyous spirit of the festival of Navratri and experience a genuinely memorable experience and the ambiance is exhilarating and cheerful in Ahmedabad and the whole city gets ready to relish its Navratri celebration
People perform the Garba folk dance around the statue of Goddess Shakti.Garba is carried out till late midnight.The dancers usually make use of dandiya,i.e. ong wooden sticks,to play garba.During this nine day long festivity,the Ahmedabad city is beautifully decorated with colorful lights.The maiden day witnesses the growing of seeds and the farmers closely watch them sprouting.Read on to know more about the Ahmedabad Navratri festival.
Ordinarily the garba and ras are folk dances associated with the worship of Ambaji, the Mother Goddess. But in reality this is a legend, the fact is that it is a unique contribution of the folk culture of Gujarat. The main form and youth exuded by this folk art is developed in Saurashtra and Kutch regions. The garbi, 'ras' and 'rasda' are so close to the soil of Saurashtra that at once it reflects its youthful rhythm. It is a great experience to witness the garba of Mer and Ahir communities. Their dance steps are so vigor our that the very ground vibrates with their performance. The Garba begins by invoking the Mother Goddess. But its heart is with Lord Krishna. The love of Krishna and Radha, and the Gopis, their meetings, Krishna asking for toll, his other pranks, the praises and rebukes they exchange, and the pain of separation, etc. are some of the feelings voiced in the themes of the garbas. This lasts for 9 nights before Dashera.
Since some years now the Gujarat Government has celebrated Navaratri Festival on an international scale throughout the state. It is celebrated with much pomp and show in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara and some cities of Saurashtra and some of the rural areas too. The Garbas of Vadodara are huge in formations and quite unique for their steps of the dance.
On the eighth and ninth day of the Navratri festivity, people offer prayers to Goddess Durga, Vijayashtami and Mahanavami. To invoke the blessings of Goddess, people cite texts like The Devi Mahatmya. The main dance performances that take place during the festive occasion of Navratri consist of the Rasa and Garba dances, in which people of age groups participate with full enthusiasm. The next day after Navratri festival is Dussehra that is observed to celebrate the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana. This is how the Navratri festival is celebrated in Ahmedabad, India.
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