Swing to the beats

Dandiya Raas’ celebrations will be held on September 23, from 6 pm to 9 pm, at Elements Mall. ‘Raas’ or ‘Dandiya Raas’ is the traditional folk dance form of Gujarat and Rajashthan and is associated with scenes of ‘Holi’ and ‘Lila’ of Krishna and Radha at Vrindavan. Along with ‘Garba’, it is the featured dance of ‘Navaratri’ evenings in Western India.

During ‘Navaratri’ festival, in most of the cities of Gujarat and Rajasthan, people gather and perform ‘Dandiya Raas’ and ‘Garba. It is a fun-filled dance with music and drums being played.

The ‘Dandiya Raas’ originated as devotional ‘Garba’ dances, which were performed in goddess Durga’s honour.

This dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between goddess Durga and Mahishasura. It is also nicknamed ‘The Sword Dance’. The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Goddess Durga. Today, ‘Raas’ is not only an important part of ‘Navaratri’ but extends itself to other festivals related to harvest and crops as well.