A group of Gujarati poets and literary stalwarts have organized a musical evening in the city on Sunday prior to Navratri to celebrate the richness of Gujarati poetic songs. The main focus will on reinventing the long lost form of Betha Garba- a form of garba singing where women sit in the centre of the garba revelers and create a magic which would reverberate the atmosphere through collective singing.
‘Ruple madhi chhe saari raat…’, ‘Taali o na tale gori garbe ghumi gaay re…’ and ‘Punam ni raat ugee…’ – these and many more classic garba tunes sung by women of yore as part of the traditional ‘Betha Garba’ will be heard at the programme.
The programme is planed to celebrate launch of Ankit Trivedi’s collection of 83 songs Geetpoorvak and the programme is conceptualized by one of the most popular Gujarati poet Suresh Dalal. Leading singers like Anup Jalota, Mitali Singh, Nayan Pancholi, Purushottam Upadhyay and Chote Ustad fame Aaishwarya Majmudar will recreate the magic of Betha Garba and classic Gujarati songs as part of this programme.
Defining the form of garba, Ankit Trivedi, 30-year-old Gujarati author and poet, said, “When you pierce a bamboo stick, a flute is born. Similarly when you pierce the centre of a pot and the flame kept inside the pot becomes visible, it is known as Garbo.”
During this festival of nine-nights, the state exhibits its positivity, prosperity of rich culture. And this program has been specially planned to recreate the magic of original Garba tunes prior to the festival. As many feel that the essence of spirituality and old poetic diction has been replaced with newer fusion and filmy musical Garba during recent years, going back to old classics is an act reinventing the old Garba tradition, added Trivedi.
Old Garba and other poetic songs written by well-known Gujarati poets including Avinash Vyas, Ninu Majumdar, Venibhai Purohit, Suresh Dalal, Harindra Dave and Trivedi would be performed during the program. The program would conclude with a special segment of classic Garba recitals.
Aaishwarya Majamudar, singer, who is to sing one of the oldest Garba song Ruple Madhi Chhe Sari Raat during this program said, “I am a hardcore Garba enthusiast and love old classic Garbas. I am thrilled to be able to participate in a musical evening that has a special focus to recreate the magic of old Garba songs.”
