Guj Samaj hosts Navratri Garba celebrations

BENSENVILLE: Gujarati Samaj Chicago (GSC) hosted a colorful Raas Garba festivity on Saturday, October 27 celebrating the Hindu Festival Navratri with vigor and gusto at Manav Seva Mandir in Bensenville, a north side suburb of Chicago.
This has turned out to be an annual affair and is done to propitiate and honor Goddess Durga and Amba Mataji. The event was attended by over 400 Samaj members, guests and other devotees
The Mahalaxmi Hall of Manav Seva Mandir was transformed into a huge dance floor to accommodate hundreds of bare feet moving in to thunderous drumbeats in swirling circles around deities Goddess “Durga and Amba Mata”.
The celebrations started in the evening and lasted till well past midnight. Young and old, men and women danced their heart out in front of Amba Mata. Musicians from India made it to the shores of the US to make the Indians dance to traditional rhythms mixed with modern beats.
The most fascinating was the Dandiya Raas. Colorful Dandiyas, some of them specially ordered from India, had modern looks. While the traditional Dandiyas are made of wood, it is now the age of aluminum and even colorful plastic. Some of the Dandiyas change color with every beat making it all the more fascinating. The non-stop Dandiya for almost 90 minutes not only drains the participants but the musicians also. The viewers are left spellbound by the fast rhythm and pace.
Garba had the orchestra of SaReGaMa of Chicago with singers Rita Patel and Atul Soni. Anand Master was the Keyboard player, on Octapad was Kafi Khan and on Percussion Andy Patel
A specialty of Navratri is the Prasad, distributed at the end of the Garba to all those present. The Navratri special Prasad has varieties of Shiro, Panda, any kind of sweet and fruits.
Prizes were distributed to winners in different groups. There were 16 trophies awarded for the following categories:
Under 25 Years Best Costume Male – Kathan Shah; Best Costume Female – Devashi; Best Garba Raas Male – Neel Sheth; Best Garba Raas Female – Nirsha Shah.
Over 25 Years Best Costume Male – Milind Desai; Best Costume Female – Veidehi Desai; Best Garba Raas Male – Jinal Ray; Best Garba Raas Female – Rushil Patel.

Asian Media USA