About Navratri:
Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of a Hindu deity Shakti. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or '''Dussehra'''.
Garba:
Garba (ગરબા in Gujarati) is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Garbha ("womb") and Deep ("a small earthenware lamp"). Many traditional garbas are performed around a central lit lamp or picture/statues of different avatars of Goddess Shakti. The circular and spiral figures of Garba have similarities to other spiritual dances, such as those of Sufi culture. Traditionally it is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navarātrī (Gujarātī નવરાત્રી Nava = 9, rātrī = nights). Either the lamp (the Garba Deep) or an image of the Goddess Durga (also called Amba) is placed in the middle of concentric rings as an object of veneration. During Navratri, Vadodara, the cultural capital of Gujarat is the best place to perform or witness Garba.
Modern garba is also heavily influenced by Ḍānḍīyā Raas (Gujarātī: ડાંડીયા), a dance traditionally performed by men. The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy dance that is seen today.
Both men and women usually wear colorful costumes while performing garba and dandiya. The girls and the women wear Chaniya choli, a three-piece dress with a choli, which is an embroidered and colorful blouse, teamed with chaniya, which is the flared, skirt-like bottom, and dupatta, which is usually worn in the traditional Gujarati manner. Chaniya Cholis are decorated with beads, shells, mirrors, stars, and embroidery work, mati, etc. Traditionally, women adorn themselves with jhumkas (large traditional earrings), necklaces, bindi, bajubandh, chudas and kangans, kamarbandh, payal, and mojiris. Boys and men wear kafni pyjamas with a kediyu - a short round kurta - above the knees and pagadi on the head with bandhini dupatta, kada, and mojiris.
There is a huge interest in Garba among the youth of India and in particular, the Gujarati diaspora. Garba and Dandiya Raas are also popular in the United States where more than 20 universities have Raas Garba competitions on a huge scale every year with professional choreography. Garba is also very popular in the United Kingdom where there are a number of Gujarati communities who hold their own garba nights. It is widely popular among the Gujarati community even in Canada, where the largest navratri festival in North America is held annually in Toronto. They say "Ae Hallo" for fun, which means "Come on! Lets start!"
Also CheckOut Main Article Here- Festivals of India
May this navratri bring happiness and Prosperity to all..Happy Navratri..Thanks for sharing.
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