events
Town Halls, Church Halls, Community Halls, Temples, Hotels, Stadiums, Streets, Parks, Courtyards, Open Grounds and Marquees are all taken over for Garba and Raas dances.
devotional
There are the garba dances dances which happen during the nine day festival of Navratri, which falls four times a year. Sadly only one of the quarterly Navratri festivals, the one which happens in October is celebrated by by vast numbers in devotional pomp and zeal. The other three periods are observed by far fewer people and it is not very common knowledge that there are four times when Navratri could be celebrated.
At Navratri time during the day Garba dances, though not usually Raas, take place in temples, small and large, and the participants are in the main women and mostly older ladies. The surroundings of the temple and its ambience lend a special sacred feeling to these daytime dances and these garbas have a special bhavna and charm and the happening is far more devotional than the evening dances. At night, the events are held in a variety of places depending on what is available and affordable. The night time dances will include firstly Garba dances for the first half, followed by an Aarti and then Raas dances.
seasons
Garba and Raas generally take place at one time period in the year for seasonal and spiritual reasons. There is however no reason why Garba and Raas dances, with or without elements of worship and devotion, may not take place throughout the year in better seasons and better places. Garba and Raas enshrine an awesome heritage of dancing, singing, teasing and pleasing. There are many good and substantial reasons why these dances should be held most of the year round.
weddings
At one time a garba event was considered an essential part of any Gujarati wedding. At weddings nowadays as there are several events such as musical nights and lavish receptions, the practice of holding a wedding Garba in Britain has sadly declined. This is regrettable as a Garba happening is the best at bringing the guests of the bride and groom and their families in closer connection with each other. Often the couple will play garba and raas with their guests for most of the evenings. Wedding Garbas when they are held, are held in suitable halls and a good deal of care time attention and money is spent not only on the event but also on expensive garments, food and music. However even at relatively low cost these dances can make the wedding festivities gracefully grand.
community
There are many community associations of Gujaratis in cities all over the world. These organisations do good work for the benefit of the community and wherever possible they will arrange Garba and Raas dances even if it is just for a night or two rather than the full nine nights. There is a wide variety of such associations ranging from those of common religious affiliations, to groups of the same caste, to worldwide organisations such as the Lions Clubs.
commercial
In India there are huge events which take place in large halls and vast grounds and are held on a commercial basis, though in some instances a part of the profits may be donated to good causes. These events seek to attract the top garba performers and therefore the expenses of the events are quite substantial and these are recouped through high entry prices and advertisements and promotion. The people attending such events may have some link with the community and organisers, but generally they are open to all. The attendance at such events ranges from about 5000 to 30,000 people.
family
Often families will hold or sponsor a night or two of garba during Navratri and these will be restricted to friends and relatives. At these events there is a practice of giving small gifts to all the girls and ladies who attend. In times past this would include some small item of stainless steel crockery, such as bowls and containers, engraved with the name of the family offering the gift.
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round and around all .... over the ground
shining and shimmering
size
Garba and Raas dances may be performed in familiar groups of several hundred, to community gatherings of several thousands and for public extravaganzas of many tens of thousands. Each gathering has it own flavour and bhavna and it is a joy to be able to attend these differently sized and arranged events and be soaked in the common and communal embrace of radiant and vibrant people A very important consideration is of course the optimum size for Garba and Raas. In India they have Garbas of up to thirty thousand people and these have their own excitement, atmosphere and are great for people watching. It is quite astonishing to watch such large crowds mingling and dancing and making way and space for each other. However despite this give and take, the dancing loses much grace and elegance in these enormous crowds.