CHENNAI: Wooden sticks and it’s ends tied with colourful ribbons. Holding them in their hands are several men and women dressed in vibrant chaniya choli’s and kedia’s, swirling to the thumping beats of dhol in several neighbourhoods. Yes, dandiya season is here, to celebrate the nine-day Navaratri festival, the Gujarati way! Chennai has a large number of Gujarati population, and they have been actively conducting dandiya and garba nights for several years. And with each year, celebrations have gotten bigger and better. “My wife Parul and I came up with the idea of conducting a dandiya night at the Rotary Club 11 years ago. Since then we have been conconducting, and so far, we have got only positive response,” says Satyan Bhatt, Rotary Club Madras.
The dance forms
Dandiya Raas or dandiya, and garba are two of the most popular dance forms performed during Navaratri. While Raas is performed with dandiyas (colourful pair of sticks), garba has various movements of the hands and feet — which include clapping. “For a non-dancer, busting some dandiya moves is easy. It’s a six count step, and all you need to do is catch the beat.
Garba might look intimidating for a beginner, but it’s the best. In fact, if you ask any Gujarati, they’ll opine that they loved dandiya as a child but as an adult, it is garba that really gets them grooving,” explains Subhasree Jain, a graduate in communications. While most steps in dandiya require an even number of people, it is not so for garba.
Upasana Iyer, a city-based model, has been attending dandiya night in the city every year, for several years at Express Avenue mall. “I am excited about attending this year too! Although I am not a Gujarati, I thoroughly enjoy the night and have so much fun dancing. You meet so many people, dance away all night, eat some really good food and just enjoy every minute of it,” she grins.Shanti Suresh, a renowned singer from the city, loves dandiya nights too, and has been winning the best dancer prize for the last three years. “It is such a well-organised event and you get to know so much about the culture and festival. Dancing continuously for three hours can be really tiring but then again you don’t feel like stopping when you are having so much fun,” she smiles.
Cultures together & dressing up
Though Navaratri has always been celebrated in Chennai, it was very neighbouhood-centric until a few years ago. Each community lived in an particular area, and they interacted only amongst themselves. “The Chennai crowd was separated in different venues like Dharmaprakash in Sowcarpet, Venkatanarayana Road in T Nagar and so on. But today, everybody comes together — from all neighbourhoods, communities and religion — and that makes it more diverse,” explains Subhasree.
A major part of the event is dressing up. Most people prefer to dress up in the traditional attire which includes the chaniya choli and the kedia. “Men wear the kedia (it looks like a free flowing skirt and is worn with a pyjama) along with a turban, and the women dress up in colourful embroidered choli (blouse), ghagra(skirt) and bandhini dupatta. The costumes generally includes mirror work designs and is worn along with heavy jewellery,” says Harsh Kothari, city-based fashion designer. The skirts and kedias are stitched in a way that complements the dance movement as well. Since most of the steps involve a lot of swirling and rotation, the attire flows along.
Many like Subhasree get their outfits shipped from relatives back home. And some rent the clothes and ornaments...for anywhere between `3,000 to `6,000. “There are a lot of shops today that rent out ghagras and ornaments. I usually prefer to do a mix and match, and wear whatever is comfortable while dancing,” says Upasana. In addition to the authentic Gujarati beats, the crowd is also treated to popular Bollywood numbers. “We try and retain as much of the authentic folk music as possible, but also play groovy Bollywood numbers to keep the night alive. In fact, in many places, people dance to live music too. We also invite DJs to play different music,” Harsh adds.
Dandiya Night at Rotary Club Madras will be held on Sep 20 (Wednesday) from 7.30 pm onwards. For details, call 9600127983, and at Express Avenue Mall from Sep 21 (Thursday) from 9 pm onwards.
For details call 28464646
Popular Bollywood songs
● Shubharambh - Kai Po Che (2013)
● Nagada sangh dhol - Ram Leela (2013)
● Dholi taro dhol bhaaje - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
● Lahu munh lag gaya - Ram Leela (2013)
● Dola dola - Bride and Prejudice (2004)
● Radha kaise na jale - Lagaan (2001)
● Bani bani - Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon (2003)
Prizes
● Best Dressed
● Best Dancer
● Prince and Princess - Under 15
● King and Queen - Under 35
I feel we should have practice sessions at least month or two before the event. One day of practice is not enough; we might forget the steps on dandiya night —Shanti Suresh