Garba
by Gargi Harjai November 25, 2021
Garba, a very famous dance form which originates from Gujrat, but has spread all over India and even U.S. The name for this famous dance style has derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Garbha’ meaning womb and deep ‘a small lamp’. The dance is performed around a lantern (deep) traditionally called Garba Deep. This isn’t just a lamp though, it has a very beautiful meaning behind it.The lamp honors the divine power of ‘Durga Mata’ who won the battle against the unbeatable mahisasur. ‘Durga Mata’ defeated Mahisasur, and her main weapon was a sword, thus dandiya also represents a sword and her power. The lamp also has another meaning being in a figure of a female body and the deep represents the divinity residing in the body of a woman. It gives us a perception that every woman, every being, can have divine power inside them.Being the biggest dance festival, which stretches for 9 days and ends on Dussehra during Navratri. The tradition happens with people playing around in a circular motion and coming back to the same point, a point where goddess or her reflection is visible. This represents the cycle of life in Hindu mythology, being born, dying and reincarnation of a soul.This dance is traditionally for women, but now-a-days even men participate. Commonly, people also confuse Dandiya with Garba, which are two different dances. Garba happens while the aarti is going on or before, dandiya is performed after the aarti. But gradually people are mixing these two dance forms into one and creating a very happy, fun environment for the performance. Leave a comment
