TWIRLING UNIVERSE
The longest dance festival on the globe is fast becoming global. The increased popularity has ensured that the days for Navratri celebrations are stretched from two to six days in the US and UK. Other destinations like the UAE and Australia have also stretched garba events from one to three nights.
Earlier, Indians abroad celebrated Navratri over the weekends alone. However, the trend is slowly changing. Garba in-charge for Bhartiya Temple of Philadelphia Ronak Mehta says, “Due to rising popularity of the Navrattri festival, the temple authorities have held garba for all nine nights from October 16 to 23 with special aarti. We get a crowd of 800 to 1,000 enthusiasts over weekdays, which more than doubles on the weekends.”
This year, Gujarati Cultural Association, San Francisco, has organised a six-day celebration of Navratri. Vice-president of the association Mahesh Patel says, “Till now, we spared just one weekend for garba events. However, to accommodate the rising crowds, we have planned three weekend events. The first garba event took place during October 12, 13. We have plans for October 19, 20 and then again on October 26 and 27.”
Similarly, Boston University’s Hindu Students Council had organized Raas Leela events on October 6 and 13. Moreover, the council has a special space allotted for garba and aarti on campus. It has even slated daily one – hour programs from October 15 to 23.
Head of Vishwa Gujarati Samaj Krishnakant Vakharia says, “The new trend abroad is to celebrate Navratri in a bigger way at a better venue. The events are spread across five to six nights to accommodate the rising number of people interested, especially in the US and UK.” The Gujarati Samaj of Wisconsin, along with Ramzat Group of Milwaukee, has spread the festivities over three weekends.
