No room for small 'garbas' in govt's mega plans

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: Big is beautiful and small is out. Organisers of the traditional ''garbas'' hosted at smaller avenues in the nooks and corners of the state feel that thanks to ''Vibrant Gujarat'', wherein the state government has decided to promote select venues, they are being completely overlooked this Navratri.<br /><br />Not only that, many small ''garbas'' will just not happen as organisers find that sponsors are not forthcoming at venues where the government is not getting involved.<br /><br />"I approached almost all big sponsors and got ''no'' for an answer.The sponsors are definitely preferring the state government-backed venues this time and without them there was no way I could afford to organise the show," says Rajesh Ravani of Zion Unlimited who has shelved plans to host a small ''garba'' event in Ahmedabad.<br /><br />"Narendra Modi na same apdi shi visaat? (What is our standing in front of Modi?)," asks Mahesh Baliya, organiser of Gokul Raas Garba, a medium-scale event in Maninagar.<br /><br />Baliya has been forced to go begging for advertisements worth Rs 2,000 from local cloth and grocery shops to run the show as most corporates have refused him saying state government has exhausted all their Navratri budget this time.<br /><br />But what has irked the small ''garba'' organisers is how the state government has completely overlooked them despite the fact that some small avenues in fact showcase the most traditional Navratri celebrations.<br /><br />"We have a rare and traditional ''garba'' where all the lights are switched off and women with ''diyas'' (lamps) perform ''aarti''. But the government is not bothered about highlighting these beautiful aspects of the festival," says Bharat Shah of Bhavanipura Garba in Vadodara.<br /><br />"We organise children''s ''garba'' where the singers, instrumentalists and dancers are all children below 14 years. It is traditional and reflects on the festive spirit which is inculcated from a very young age," says Ajay Dave of Alaiya and Balaiya Garba, which will be five years old this year.<br /><br />Ramesh Rathod of Sadhumata ni Pol in Ahmedabad where only men are allowed to do ''garba'' in all the traditional finery has in fact even written to Chief Minister Modi urging him to ensure that places where traditional ''garbas'' are held be on the itinerary of the visiting NRIs. <br /><br />"Big garba avenues showcase commercialisation of Navratri. Real Navratri happens in places like our ''pol''. Guests from abroad should be brought here to take back real memories of Gujarat''s culture," says Rathod.<br /><br />For Suryanagari Garba, it is an effort to revive one of the oldest ''garbas''. "After a gap of three years, we are reviving the devotional aspect of the festival. It is all in praise of Goddesses Amba Mata and Yamuna Maharani, which is popular among the Vaishnav community," says an organiser Shailesh Mehta, who adds that the government has ignored smaller ''garbas'' citing reasons of infrastructure and security.<br /><br />Interestingly, even bigger ''garbas'', which have been selected to play host to NRI guests also feel that small ''garbas'' are being robbed off the charm this Navratri.<br /><br />"We are one of the four official hosts. But I feel it is unfair to showcase only bigger ''garbas'' as the real fervour of the festival lies in ''Sheri garbas'' and other smaller ''garbas''," says Rajesh Parikh, an organiser of Maa Shakti Garba in Vadodara.<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">(With inputs by Harit Mehta)</span><br /><br /></div> </div>