The Nights of Lights

while I'm writting this, Gujarat has rocked the land again with the beats of dandiya. If you will arrange a pole for the best festival, a Gujarati likes, than navratri will win without any opponent.you know what is the most special things about the festival in india?. it is the atmosphere of few days before the festival. Eagerness and planning and discussing about the way we gonna celebrate it.all that stuff are rally awesome.we people are passionate about the
festival.Like that before few days of navratri, atmosphere becomes somewhat like this. People started to play garba in their home and started to buy latest version of it.The hand carts comes out with the lots of pirated cds and dvds. People arranges meetings to discuss what will be snack this time we gonna distribute and what will be the prize?. people used to call their friend and relatives to invite at their home for celebration. Women starts to cook special sweets and dishes. Of course they start to shopping and spending heavy mount too. Did i need to mention that? They started t buy traditional outfits and make -up kits and all those stuff which are of no use probably. So the thing is that atmosphere during these days are like something big gonna arrive and we are waiting to welcome it. And that's really fantastic. I want to find that man who started this tradition of playing garba for 9 nights, so i can bow him. I don't know much history about it but although i want to write about it, the way a single gujarati loves this festival. We used to play garba to please gods.you can say one type of praying. but while playing garba probably no one would have this thing in their mind except some elders. i dint know since when our people used to celebrate this nights but i must say that they have made these nights enormous for every one's life here. And the music, i can bet that a paralysed person will stand up to dance. Probably you guys have seen step up series of Hollywood and you must be fan of it. but if you'll compare those steps with the steps of our Gujarati garba style, you will make dvd of it and will see everyday instead of those movies. without any choreography, without any guidance, without much practice how can anyone remember these much steps?. In Most of people's mind the image of Gujarati woman is somewhat like this. Gujarati women are huge in size (huge in sense of fat not in height) and don't care about their figure, they used to eat and used to sleep a lot. that's why they famous as "SHETHANI". yeah, probably everything is right, i do agree with you too. But when it comes to at navratri, i wish you should see them during garba time. you're jaws will fell and this words will come out "What a stamina !!!". I'll say, an athlete will ashamed after seeing stamina of these women. How can such heavy and huge body can dance straight whole
night?. huh?.is there any special drug they're taking?. yes, there's a drug and that's faith in their heart for god and love for the navaratri. Don't dare to stop them or to interrupt them. you won't get food for a week at home than. lol . Now another question always strikes whenever navratri used to come. "Why do girls look so beautiful in navratri?, why?". Damn !! An ordinary girl who used to wear simple dress everyday, who used to call "DESI" in all the way, no body used to notice them suddenly becomes the princess when wears traditional clothes. And here her time comes. i can tell you that you'll see the most beautiful girl of your life in the navratri only. "Chaniya chori" the traditional dress of garba. And there's neck cut competition between girls to wear the best traditional outfits. And rush to buy this CHANIYA CHOLI seems like crowd of riot. you won't get a space for stepping single foot in "CHAUTA BAZAR" of Surat and "LAW-GARDEN" of Ahmadabad. You'll find more amount of carbon DI-oxide than oxygen at those place. Girls get originality. Usually Garba used to start around 9.00 pm but these girls will start to make their self up since 5.00 pm of evening. Why do they take so much long time?. even they wont have answer of this question. hey don't worry, take your time but be sure that you're looking the most beautiful among all. After all we should not have any regret of waiting those long hours. Now let's move to the music. The lyrics of garbas are as typical as understanding encryption for the new generation people like us. But when you starts to get those words, they sounds really awesome as written by Gulzar or Prasoon joshi. But you should be knowledge of typical Gujarati language, because you'll find thousands of new Gujarati accent in that. Even sometimes it creates problem for me to understand although I'm born GUJARATI. And singers,
what to say about them? is anyone there who can sing straight 5 or 6 hours on every 9 nights with intensity like lighting?. huh?. But here we have those people who looks so ordinary in their clothes and sings extra ordinary during these 9 nights. They know when to sing, what to sing as per mood of "garba player". Because when garba starts to get rhythm, they are slow like a bull-cart. and slowly slowly it takes acceleration in the beats. and in last every one lost with the steps. Here in the years of the new age, in the new trend every thing is changing. Like that now there's one new trend in garba too, calls PARTY PLOTS. Before few years each and every streets and society used to decorate with "MANDAPS" and lights and small establishment of "MATAJI"(goddess). and this trend used to call SHERI GARBA. but this party plot has almost replace SHERI GARBA now days. In one big club or in farm or in resort or in big grounds people gathers to play. But mine point of view is that SHERI GARBA was better. Because PARTY PLOT thing seems like a business and that SHERI GARBA seems like a work of love of neighbours for each other to celebrate festival with joy and delights.just think. in party plot you are playing with those who are almost unknown for you and in street you are playing with the friends who are as old as you guys were wearing "CHADDIS". now tell me which will give you more pleasure? huh?. Anyway I'm not against it all because in party plot you can check out other beautiful girls than your street. We gujrati can't stay away from business that you all know.Business lies in the blood of Gujarati's. old says. I'll say business lies in the DNA of Gujarats. Because here in these party plots there's a vast arrangement of small food stalls. and all small food stall used to profit best of their years. But what ever it is. Now at last just imagine
one scene in your mind that will give you a great example of faith and love for navratri. Just imagine a place where around 2 to 5 thousands people used to get together with the steel plate contained of lamp of ghee.(we calls it AARTI) And together sings an AARTI. Just imagine this scene at night. How 2000 to 5000 lamps looks together and what will be the volume of AARTI which is being sing?. huh?. that's it. I guess no need to say anything more now. We enjoys
garba like those are the only days we gets for live or to die. I suggest to see you once the true colors of garba and you'll fall in love with it for a life time.

PEACE AND LOVE