Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from May, 2023

Garba: The Nine-Night Dance

Garba dance Gujarat is a state of India that is located on the western coast of the Arabian sea. Garba is one of the most celebrated dance forms in Gujarat. It is traditionally performed during the nine-day Hindu festival called ‘Navratri’. The word ‘nav’ means nine and ‘ratri’ means night. Thus, the festival derives its name from its celebration over a period of nine nights. This festival is devoted to Goddess Durga, whose nine forms are worshiped on nine days. The festival is celebrated in various ways across India, but in Gujarat it is celebrated in a unique way. Gujarati people follow the primary tradition of performing garba dance for nine nights to pay their respect to Goddess Durga.  The word Garba, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Garbha’, means womb. This dance is usually performed around an earthen lantern with light inside it. The earthen lantern is called ‘Garbha Deep’. This lantern represents the human body and the light inside it represents life (fetus) in the womb