Navratri is a festival of worship, dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights.

Garba (or, Gharba), is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. Unlike other famous types of Indian dance, such as Bharatanatyam and Odissi, Gharba is much more similar to Western social dancing than the presentational style of the others. The greatest difference between Gharba and western social dancing is that it is circular and is religious in origin.

Modern Garba is also heavily influenced by Dandiya, a dance traditionally performed by men, and from which the sticks originate. These sticks, which can vary from 1.5 to 2 feet in length, and is meant to represent the sword of the avenging Goddess Durga. The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy, exciting dance that is seen today. Dandiya and Garba are the featured dances of Navratri evenings in North India, originating in Gujarat and Sindh. Originated as devotional Garba dances, which were performed in Durga’s honor, this dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between the Goddess and Mahishasura, the mighty demon-king, and is nicknamed “The Sword Dance”. The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Durga. The women wear traditional dresses such as colorful embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas (traditional attire) dazzling with mirror work and heavy jewellery. The Men wear special turbans and kedias, but can range from area to area. The dancers whirl and move their feet and arms in a choreographed manner to the tune of the music with lots of drum beats. The dhol is used as well as complementary percussion instruments such as the dholak, tabla and others. The true dance gets extremely complicated and energetic.

Garba is performed before Aarti (worshipping ritual) as devotional performances in the honor of the Goddess while Dandiya is performed after Aarti, as a part of merriment. While Garba is performed exclusively by women, men and women join in for Raas Dandiya. Also known as “The Dance of Swords” as performers use a pair of colorfully decorated sticks as symbols, the circular movements of Dandiya Raas are much more complex than that of Garba. The origin of these dance performances or Raas can be traced back to the life of Lord Krishna.

It is believed that Lord Krishna spent his boyhood days at Gokul and charmed its people with his ability to dance and play the flute. Later when he became the ruler of Dwarka, he not only distinguished himself as a great statesman and philosopher but also ensured that folk dance and music thrived in his kingdom. Since then, the people of Gujarat have maintained their strong tradition in folk dances and have preserved them in all their majestic glory.

References:

1. http://www.wikipedia.org

2. http://www.gujrattourism.org

3. http://www.dandiyazone.com