garba and raas
The word Garba has several meanings. It means a womb, it also refers to a pot which symbolises a womb and Garba is also the name given to the dances which are performed to songs; such songs are also called Garba. The Garba dance is performed as a circular dance around a central deity.
The Dandiya Raas is a stick dance played by a group of evenly numbered dancers, usually dancing in two concentric circular lines, with one line moving clockwise and the other moving counter clockwise, with the players clicking sticks with those opposite them as they move along the circle. Dandiya Raas is known as Dandiya or as Raas.
music
The music of Garba and Raas is folk music, which is popular with the masses. Garba and Raas compositions are usually twenty to thirty minutes long. The length of the tune is tailored so that it has a mellow beginning, a sumptuous middle and a rapturous ending. Garba and Raas compositions have been handed down over the generations and their words and themes range from the spiritual to social and domestic concerns and cover a wide spectrum of life and its loves and longings, its weaknesses and woes; in loving words, teasing lyrics and cheeky asides.
navratri
Navratri is a festival spanning over nine days and nine nights and is usually celebrated around late September, early October every year. Garba and Raas dances are an integral part of the celebrations. The primary significance of Navratri is the worship of the energy known as Shakti, which represents the power of the Divine Feminine represented by the Goddess of power and strength Durga who is worshipped on the first three days, with the next three days being dedicated to the Goddess of spiritual and material wealth Lakshmi and last three days dedicated to the Goddess of wisdom and learning Saraswati.
Garba and Raas are circular devotional dances
Words do not easily capture the vibrancy, the energy, the ecstasy and so much more of a Garba and Raas happening and it’s blissful blend of music and dance, glowing and flowing with grace and radiance, the noise and swaying of people, the tinkling and jingling of the dancers and the delighted faces of the people amazed by the rapture.
Introduction
