Garba (dance)

Garba (Gujarati: ગરબા) is a form of Gujarati dance which originates from the state of Gujarat in India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Garbha . Many traditional garbas are performed around a centrally lit lamp or a picture or statue of the Goddess Shakti. Traditionally, it is performed during the nine-day Indian festival Navarātrī (Gujarati: નવરાત્રી, where નવ means 9, and રાત્રી means nights). Either the lamp (the Garba Deep) or an image of the Goddess, Durga (also called Amba) is placed in the middle of concentric rings as an object of veneration. The word garba comes from the Sanskrit word for womb and so implies gestation or pregnancy — life. Traditionally, the dance is performed around a clay lantern with a light inside, called a Garbha Deep ("womb lamp"). This lantern represents life, and the fetus in the womb in particular. The dancers thus honor Durga, the feminine form of divinity. Garba is performed in a circle as a symbol of the Hindu view of time. The rings of dancers revolve in cycles, as time in Hinduism is cyclical. As the cycle of time revolves, from birth, to life, to death and again to rebirth, the only thing that is constant is the Goddess, that one unmoving symbol in the midst of all of this unending and infinite movement. The dance symbolizes that God, represented in feminine form in this case, is the only thing that remains unchanging in a constantly changing universe (jagat). The Garbha Deep has another symbolic interpretation. The vessel itself is a symbol of the body, within whom Divinity (in the form of the Goddess) resides. Garba is danced around this symbol to honor the fact that all humans have the Divine energy of Devi within them. Traditional_Folk_dance_garba_dress.jpg|Garba dressing: traditional dressing male is ''kediyu'' while the traditional female dress is ''chaniya choli''. Gagra choli.jpg|Little girl dressed in [[Gagra choli]]. Modern Garba is also heavily influenced by Dandiya Raas (Gujarātī: ડાંડીયા રાસ), a dance traditionally performed by men.

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Related concepts (4)

Navaratri

Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga also referred to as Adi Parashakti. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Ashwin (September–October). It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri. However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri.

Gujarat

Gujarat (ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt , ˈɡudʒəɾat̪) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west.

Culture of India

Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term also applies beyond India to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to India by immigration, colonisation, or influence, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country.