The millennium's first Navratri festivities in the metropolis will get underway from September 28, heralding a star-studded hi-tech affair for nine nights with youngsters swaying to beats of dandiya on ‘re-mixed techno’ version of traditional Gujarati songs and blockbuster Hindi film melodies. The Navratri fever, as every year, is catching on as thousands of youngsters, dressed in colourful Ghaghra Cholis and Kummerbands (waist bands), are engaged in practice sessions to get fine-tuned to the big days. Singers and musicians like Sonu Nigam, Falguni Pathak, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Anu Malik, Shravan and Malkiat Singh, would be specially flown in from London to enthrall the Generation-X with their scintillating performances. Dandiya, a traditional Gujarati folk dance, performed with two-thin sticks, is played to signify victory of good over evil, the climax being the killing of Ravana by Lord Rama on Dussehra.
According to Hindu mythology, the nine days represent nine incarnations of goddess Parvati, of which goddess Amba and Kali slayed demon kings Bhasmasura and Mahishasura and sent the universal message of ‘good rules over evil’. From traditional flavour of dandiya, played on beats of ‘dhol’ (drums) to the ultra-modern ‘disco-dandiya’, the festivities are now a multi-million extravaganza.
Bureau Report