People around the world are very well aware of the terms Navratri and Garba. So much is its popularity, that as soon as one comes across a Gujarati, the very next thought that comes to his/her mind is Garba.
So what really is Navratri, a non Gujarati may ask. Well, the word Navratri can be split into two words – Nav, which means nine and Ratri, which means night. So Navratri is a festival wherein people celebrate the power of 9 forms of goddess Durga. It is a festival of joy, dance, colors, and lots of love.
Navratri is so popular that not only the Gujaratis or even people from other parts of India celebrate it, but people from around the globe love doing Garba.
A lot of non Gujaratis keep wondering why we love Garba so much. Ask any Gujarati and he or she will give a hundred points as to why they love Garba! For now, I bring to you 16 reasons why we Gujaratis love Garba!
1. The name itself gets our legs dancing. We don’t need any drinks to get high, Garba can get us high!
That’s right. Gujarat is a dry state, we all know that. However, most of the Gujaratis are fine with it. We are cool enough to get high by doing Garba.
2. The beautiful traditional music called Garbo
No exaggerating here, but the Garbo, which means the songs on which we do Garba, are traditionally rich and they truly portray the culture of Gujarat. We love these songs so much that while dancing, we even sing at the top of our voices.
Tara vina Shyam mane…, Paatan thi Patoda mangaavo….
3. The immensely gracious garments for both men and women
You can trust me on this, the garments that we wear are so gorgeous that you would not be able to take your eyes off it. Chania Cholis for women and Kediyu for men – some people go to play Garba just because they love to dress up in this!
4. One of the best festivals which we love to celebrate with our friends as well as family
There are some festivals which we love to celebrate with our family and there are some we love to celebrate with our friends. Navratri is one of those rare festivals which we can celebrate with both our friends and family.
5. Not only our Gujarati friends, but even our non Gujarati friends and foreigners love to do Garba with us
That’s right! If you happen to be in Gujarat during Navratri, you will be able to see that people from all the cultures and even the foreigners residing here get into our culture and celebrate with us to the fullest.
6. Garba is easy to perform, anyone can quickly learn it
So much so that from an 8 year old to a 60 year old – anybody can do Garba. If by chance you don’t know how to do it, your Gujarati friends can teach you in a single day!
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7. It happens to be a great way to exercise
Good news! If you’re on a weight losing spree, go play Garba for 9 days. I can assure you, you’re bound to lose some kilos!
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8. Every girl dressed in a Choli looks beautiful and every guy dressed in a Kediyu looks handsome!
Many may beg to differ to this point, but once you enter the Garba playground, you’ll know why I said this.
Source9. The city looks beautiful with all those lightings and decoration
Seriously, if you’re planning to visit Gujarat, do it during Navratri. Once you see it during the night, you’ll never find any night clubs as cool as Gujarat!
This is the famous United Way of Baroda’s Garba
10. The amazing food that follows after Garba
Gujaratis are foodies, no denying that. One of the best parts of Navratri is that post Garba, we have such amazingly delicious food that you can simply not resist. Dhokla, Khichu, Chaat, Khaman…. Aah! The list doesn’t even end. After a tiring Garba session, nothing can be better than these goodies!
11. This is the time of the year when we love to hangout with our friends
Yes, even our long lost friends and cousins meet up and play Garba together. Hence, Navratri is actually the time when we love to hangout with our favorite people!
12. It is a religious festival. We go to pray to goddess Durga before we play Garba. In this way, we also worship our Gods.
As mentioned in the introduction, Navratri is celebrated in order to pray to Goddess Durga. It has its own religious values and we pray to the Goddesses before we start playing. You know what’s the best part? People from all the religions play Garba.
13. Late night drives post Garba
We all do that! No long drives can ever match the fun that late night long drives with friends after Garba have!
14. Navratri is the only time when parents don’t deny to let their kids stay out till late nights
Some parents are over protective and they might not allow their kids to stay out till late nights. Believe me, Navratri is the only festival where no parents would deny their kids to stay out!
15. Navratri is celebrated all over the world
Most of us are aware about this fact that Gujaratis are spread around the world and they carry the rich heritage wherever they go. Hence, Navratri is also celebrated all over the world and not only in India.
16. None of our festivals are complete without Garba
Lastly, be it any of our festivals – weddings, engagements or even birthday parties, none of them are complete without Garba. There has to be a round of Garba every single time!
If you have your own reasons for your Garba love, I’d love to know. Drop in your reasons in the comments section below!
Do not forget to share this article if you’re a true Garba lover :D
Happy Navratri in advance, everyone!
