HYDERABAD: As hundreds of dandiya dancers took a break from the traditional dance to join the Mahaarthi, as the cymbals clanged and as the light from the traditional oil lamps engulfed the venue, it was a solemn moment for the crowd that assembled for Durgashtami celebrations at The Navratri Utsav on Sunday evening.
Being held at Police Stadium, Begumpet, the grand nine-day event attracted Hyderabadis of all ages and walks of life to take part in the traditional revelry. The venue also witnessed two unique competitions on Sunday. The first was to pick the best traditional dance performers.
Participants passionately performed Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam and Laawni with great festive fervour. “We also had a pooja thali competition and we loved how creatively the participants decorated their pooja plates,” said Saloni Jain, organiser. The crowd had a lot of IT employees and collegians who were looking forward to a night of dandiya, thanks to holidays for the next two days.” Sugandha Reddy, who works in a corporate company at Gachibowli and lives at Sindhi Colony, says the weekend has been great as she could turn up at the venue by 7 pm instead of 8.30 pm on workdays. “I even shopped for a lehenga in the last minute today to take part in the finale on Monday,” she says.
Monday is the ninth and last day of The Navratri Utsav. Besides a specially curated musical programme by Darshan Pandya and band from Mumbai on Monday, There will also be prize distribution of the 15 events held across the nine days. “No more Monday blues this week. Join the celebrations,” urges Saloni for the event for which The New Indian Express is the media partner.