Garba fever picks up in city

Swati Sharma / TNN / Sep 3, 2006, 23:56 IST

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What's a dandiya night in Delhi? Gujarati songs remixed with intermittent Punjabi-pop beats.

NEW DELHI: What's a dandiya night in Delhi? Gujarati songs remixed with intermittent Punjabi-pop beats. Traditionally dressed dancers, especially those from Mumbai, and the crowd doing bhangra oblivious of the background score. But all that is set to change now.
With Navratri still a month away, Gujarat's famous folk dance has got Delhiites swaying to its beat.Around 500 dandiya lovers in the city are practising daily since a month to be fully-prepared before the big celebration.
The classes, being organised by an NGO Lok Utsav in Lodhi Colony Community Hall, have students of all age-groups and communities practising dandiya in the traditional Gujarati way.
And it's not the remix rhythms that the students are practising; they are learning all authentic forms of colourful dance like Garba, Dandiya Raas, Heench and Teen Taali.

Trained dancers from the dance troupe Rang Milan have been roped in to train these dandiya enthusiasts.
Earlier, limited to Mumbai and Gujarat, Dandiya celebrations have caught on in a big way with the city. From housewives, students, kids, to the elderly, they are all preparing with the same passion. The classes also have around 8-10 foreign students participating.
"As I am married to an Indian, I always wanted to learn traditional dance. This was a good opportunity for me to get started. A couple of my friends attend evening classes here," said Yasuko Malhotra, a Japanese.

For some it's a way to know the culture, for others it's a good timpepass. Said Richa Bhalla, a JMC student: "For me this is fun at it's best. I have been to dandiya classes earlier, but felt odd as I didn't know the steps. But now I look forward to Navratri."
Added Suparna Arora, a housewife from Janakpuri: "I have seen dandiya only in TV shows and always loved it. But when I got an opportunity to learn it, I was delighted."...
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The curiosity of non-Gujarati community in the colourful dancing form is evident by people coming in from far-off places like Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad to practise.
"The dance classes have been a huge hit. We have people from all communities participating here, only about 5% are Gujaratis. This only proves that north Indians are intrigued by the Gujarati culture and ready to experiment with it," said Mona Kothari, member of the NGO.
She further said that they are planning to organise an event at the Talkatora Stadium during navratri where these students will perform.

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