Had been to the Navratri evening last night at the local Mandhir in Soton and we, the Uni Students had been invited to the Garba.
To those of you who don't know, Garbha is a Gujarati traditional way of dancing around the deity in a circle. The Dandiya dance. The event started around 6.30pm but I could not get there on time as I was stuck in traffic on the way back to Soton from home. I reached soton at only 8pm, dressed up quickly and managed to get to the Mandhir at 9. I had to go to Wembly in the morning with family and got back home very late, again due to the traffic jam. It was a day of travelling. As soon as I got home, grabbed my stuff which I had already packed before leaving to wembly and made my way straight back to Soton. And trust me, all I had that day was a cup of tea. Mum was not happy about it. Yet, I left and rushed to Soton to be on time for the festival. But no luck, I was late.
The garbha was too great. I had a fabulous time. It was funny too. Some of us had no idea of how to dance as we were dragged to join them in the circle. I was just running, clapping this and that way for the first few mins but managed to get into the flow soon to clap rhythmically. However, later for the dandiya, it took me some time to learn the style to dance with the sticks. There was a lady who was nice to teach us how to dance for dandiya. The steps were a little complicated in a way that you have to whirl, with your feet and arms moving in tune and each movement ends in a clap or clattering the sticks with the person opposite you.
It was full of fun and enjoyed so much. I loved their way of celebrating the Navratri evening. Think I should try exploring different cultures and take part in. It will be exciting to join the celebrations and learn different things. Hmmm..
At the end the uni students were asked to take part in Arathi, so each of us got the chance get our hands on it. It was almost 1am when all came to an end and we made our way out.
This was the first hand experience for me to be at such a mesmerizing event and I am glad I didn't miss it. A good day to remember!
11 comments:
It is indeed a good day to remember. I am glad that we didnt miss the night.
u and kumiz had fun wow...:)..cool buddies ..hope i was with u there :)..
urs..hemu..
wow!!desi flavour in UK!!gr8!
Celebrations are always fun, no matter what culture it is.
Nice to hear you had a great time :)
Wow..It seems that u had a really good time..I wish I had been there too..
Wow..It seems that u had a really good time..I wish I had been there too..
Kumiz: Truly said!
Hemu: Yep, it was fun. I guess you would come across these kinda events so often than us as u r in the country of its origin.
Anwesa: Yeyyy! lolz.
Aneesh: very well said. Each culture has its beautiful way of celebrating things.
Vani: Ye, I had a great time. I also wish u were here :)
hey wow u seem to hav had a lot of fun saranya.
full on mastii
Priya: Yep I had great fun :)) btw, what does mastii mean?
mastii means "fun" only dear
Oh cool :) thanks.
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