Dear Readers,
A friend of mine posted an article on her Facebook account which talked about the frivolity and extravagance of the great Navratra festival of Gujarat. The article talked about how Garba and Dandiya ran in the blood of Gujaratis and all those non-Gujarati outsiders who are enamoured by this mega festival. Apparently, I am one of the latter kinds.
After reading that article, I went down memory lane and all those colorful and dazzling images of those magical nights flashed before my eyes. The beautifully adorned Gujarati women, donning mirror-work chaniya-cholis and dancing so elegantly in those gigantic swirling movements that they appear to be apsaras floating on celestial clouds. Equally gorgeous were the men folk, wearing kediyas and bustling with joy and energy.
The most romantic part of the whole experience is the slight nip in the air that usually hangs about post-monsoons during the month of October. To drive back home on a bike or a car late night ( which is really late, somewhere around 3 or 4 pm) in the company of friends through those streets of Ahmedabad or Baroda drenched in orange lights is a sure way to send your heart soaring so high that you feel dizzy and inebriated. Who needs alcohol, after all, in the 'dry state'!!!
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