Mangaluru: Gujarati Garba set for an 'amchigele' spin in Kodiyal this Navaratri

MANGALURU: Gujarati Garba is all set for an ‘amchigele’ touch in ‘Kodiyal’ this Navaratri. Garba is a traditional Gujarati form of dance that the Gujarati community in Namma Kudla have been celebrating with panache for years during the nine-day Navaratri festival. Taking cue from its growing popularity among Konkani youth, Youth of GSB, a community youth organisation has come forward to organise this event in Mangaluru on October 5.
Chethan Kamath B, one of the promoters of Youth of GSB told TOI that the organisation received requests from Konkani youth for similar event for community youths. It is common for youths from communities, GSB included to be at Gujarati School in Alake to witness and sometimes participate in the Garba every year, Chethan said, adding the organisation decided to hold the event on its own for the first time to honour request from youth.
The GSB Dandiya Night as the event has been christened will be every bit traditional right from the dress that participants wear to setting up of a lamp around which couples dance to rhythmic beats. The event that will be held at T V Raman Pai Convention Centre will have dance, food, music, games and prizes, Chethan said, adding professional choreographers will be on hand to guide the Dandiya aspirants put their best foot forward.
The idea of Dandiya Night is yet another initiative on part of the organisation to bring people from GSB community in general and its youths in particular on to a common platform as part of greater community bonding exercise. Having used GSB Premier League, a cricket event as sounding board for this idea, we have since branched off to holding various social and religious activities here and outside involving youth from the community, he said.