Gujarat might be a few miles away from the coast of Goa but Gujaratis living here call Goa their home. It gets quite apparent when you notice more Goans joining in the celebrations of Navratri, not just observing but actually attending workshops to learn the right dance steps of Dandiya and Garba and then participating in the competitions. When one thinks of Navratri, one thinks of girls and women beautifully dressed in the nine colours of Navrarti in their ‘chaniya cholis’ and saris performing the puja and then waiting for the time to dance the ‘dandiya raas’ with their family and friends. But there is more to just the dancing, as the nine days help to come closer to Goddess Durga and ‘Ambe Maa’. “Since Navratri is celebrated in every region of India, people prefer celebrating with their own community and hardly anyone travels home for the celebrations,” says Ashwin (Bipin) Shah, a lifetime member of the Panaji Gujarati Yuvak Mandal which organises this festival every year. “Navratri is organized by both men and women, and women are more enthusiastic to participate in the celebrations as compared to men. There are competitions for everyone including children and elders throughout the nine days”, he adds as his family participates and has won several awards. Navratri is celebrated by Panaji Gujarati Yuvak Mandal for the past 58 years and currently has over 400 members.
While staying away from home can make one adapt more to the new place, the Gujarati community of Goa has kept alive their culture and traditions. The family gives importance to following traditions by the younger generation and they strongly follow it. “This year, we couldn’t go for shopping but my daughter who lives in Mumbai, travelled to Kutch and through video calling, we selected our traditional clothes for the festival which she later shipped to Goa. Thanks to technology, we didn’t even have to leave our house,” says Shah, originally from Diu, who was born and brought up in Goa. His families four generations have been living in Goa and even their daughters-in-law, though from Gujarat, easily adapt to the Goan lifestyle.
Besides the nine days of Navratri at Panjim Gymkhana from 8 pm to 11.30 pm, this year, the association will be organising their 20th All Goa Dandiya Masti Dance competition which has seen tremendous response over the years. “The competition will be held at Taleigao Community Centre, Taleigao, on October 9, from 8pm onwards. Last year, we organised the competition under Covid protocol and only 100 members were allowed. This year, the festival is open to all and we are quiet enthusiastic about the celebrations. Goans are an important part of the celebration as many Goans dance better than Gujaratis for the competitions. There will be five age groups for the Dandiya and Garba competition, 5 to 15 years, 16 to 30 years, 31 to 45 years, 46 to 60 years and 60 years and above. There will be prizes for each category for best dress for male and female, best dance for male and female besides the Dandiya Masti King for the year 2022 and Dandiya Masti Queen for the year 2022. The music will be by DJ Sulaiman,” says Parish Mehta, Vice President of the Panaji Gujarati Yuvak Mandal.
Mehta has garment business in Goa and every Navaratri, he is stocked with costumes for children as well as men and women. He finds it heartwarming to see families gear up for one of the biggest festival in the Gujarati community. “I have been living in Goa since 1987 and there is such great communal harmony that you can even see it on the dance floor. There are dancers from different communities dancing and winning prizes too for the competition,” adds Mehta.
Garba is meant for women while Dandiya is performed by men. However, in Goa, the dances are performed by both. Dancers can be seen improvising on their steps by watching Garba and Dandiya CDs called Khelaiya and Rangoli music which are available in the market.
Interestingly, many Goan youngsters are showing keen interest in these dance forms and are especially getting trained through dance classes. Hetal Gangani from Panjim calls dancing her passion. A Maths, Science and English teacher for the past seven years, she has been conducting Dandiya workshops for kids, women and men for both beginners and advanced classes. A Gujarati, born and brought up in Goa, she feels totally connected to her roots as she strongly relates to the true essence of Indian contemporary and folk dance. She started taking Garba and Dandiya workshops under the name Rhythm, to keep the rich tradition of the folk dance alive and to spread the significance of the festival of Navratri. “The workshop is open to all age groups and I have been conducting the workshops at different venues. This year, I couldn’t conduct the workshops at Miramar and Porvorim due to non availability of the hall. I noticed that 95 percent of the participants for the workshops are Goans and the whole community is enthusiastic to learn the dance steps,” says Gangani, who conducted classes at Saraswati Mandir Hall in Panjim and at Shankarwadi Temple, Taleigao.
Vrinda Kanani from Vasco heads the Darsh Dance and Fitness Acaemy in Vasco and offers a 15-day certified course in Dandiya and Garba. To accomadate the growing number of participants every year, she even procures the Daniya sticks from Mumbai and Gujarat. “I have been teaching these folk dances for over ten years now and when I started I had only 15 participants. This year, I had 150 women and 50 children who participated. It is not restricted to only Gujaratis but people from all communities are eager to learn. On October 1, we will be organizing a dance competition which is open to all in Vasco at the dance academy. We are expecting around 500-600 people,” says Kanani, who named her academy after her son, Darsh, who she considers her lucky charm.
It is never late to pick up Dandiyas sticks and start practicing the routine of Dandiya Raas.