Atul Purohit Garba United Way Mp3 Download

[Francesca Cruiz]

Thousandsof them had spilled on to the roads, mostly impatient and on a bike. They were stuck in a traffic jam. It was the first time I saw traffic jam on the roads of Vadodara which are clean and wide. A small town in Gujarat, west India, and Vadaodara is known for its Garba dance celebrations of epic proportions. It was the most fashionable traffic jam I had ever seen.

Young boys and girls dressed in their best ethnic wear paraded (and stuck) on the unending ramp on a bike. Reds, blues, greens, silvers and golden embellished their bodies. They could have passed off as apsaras and devs (fairies and Gods). But their interests were more mortal. They were heading to the mega dance show which is also mentioned in Book of records.

My host Soniya Shah had invited me and my other Mumbai friends cum colleagues (Nishant, Vinayak, and Pradnya) to Gujarat to attend the mega festival on a short notice. I lived in Navi Mumbai at that time so it was easy and cheap for me to show up. You can either take a train or bus or flights to Vadodara from most major cities of India. For Mumbaikars it is very easy to attend the event as there are many Mumbai to Vadodara flights of short distance, which makes it a quick weekend getaway. All you have to do is-pack your bags, book your flights and show up in the cultural capital of Gujarat, also known as Baroda.

We arrived at the famous United Way Garba Grounds after braving the crowds on our ramshackle bikes. We were underdressed and were completely overshadowed by the men and women who masqueraded as peacocks and peahens on the sprawling grounds.

Huge cut outs of green parrots and numerous flags hung from wires above our heads. It added to the festive atmosphere. After buying the tickets, we were left to fend for ourselves. We got 4 empty seats near the barricade which separated us from the dance grounds. It gave us a fabulous view of the grand spectacle.

What followed next was jaw dropping. Men and women of all ages moved in synchronization and without missing a single step, they move like one giant whirligig. I can imagine I would have made a fool of myself. I would have bumped into some one, punched someone by mistake or fallen or hit someone with dandiya sticks. The way they moved their sticks and their body was admirable. It was an eye catching mlange of grace, skill and poise.

My friend Soniya, being a local, took us to a small garba congregation too much of the participants of which were either friends or extended family of Soniya. Me, Nishant, Vinayak and Pradnyasat incongruously on the periphery of the small dance ground as Soniya introduced us to anyone who passed by. Jai Shri Krishnas (Greetings) were exchanged as we immersed ourselves deeper in a culture we knew zilch about. Hours passed.

In fact, Soniya told us that in Vadodara, mother in laws aggressively cross check through vishwasniya sutras (trusted sources)that their prospective daughter in laws knows the steps of garba before saying yes to the marriage. I am sure it was not joke. I am sure the eviler ones also make the damsels in distress pass through a garba test. Vadodara indeed is the cultural capital of Gujarat!

After the dance extravaganza we headed to the Ratri Bazaar for midnight snacking. The open air dining area is a great place to sample local cuisine like papdi nu lot, sev khaman, dhokla etc. Read about it on my vegan guide to Vadodara. Link is shared at the end of the blog.

In 2011, more than 1, 00,000 people visited. (Source: Times Of India)United Way is mentioned in Limca book of Records as the largest garba ground in the world.Sample the local Gujarati food at the many food stalls set up here. I favourite is khaman, papdi nu lot, khandavi etc.Garba festival and similar group dances can also be experienced in other cities of Indian state of Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar etc.Garba at United Way, Vadodara, Gujarat. Incredible India

The phenomenon is experienced only once in a year during Navratri. Navratri is a 9 day long Hindu festival where each day represents the nine manifestations of Hindu Goddess Durga. The dance is performed on each of the 9 day. When I was in Navi Mumbai, I used to watch dandiya and garba dance every year on roads. It is very common but no match to what goes on in Vadodara every year. Navrati falls mostly in October every year.

Vadodara is a big and important city. It is well connected with all the major metros and small towns of India. Nearest big city from Vadodara is Mumbai in Maharashtra which is just 411 kilometers away (7 hours, 30 minutes). You can take an overnight train or bus from Mumbai and can easily reach Vadodara.

The Garba Ground is also amazingly decorated in bright rainbow colours with different themes every year.It is always eye captivating every year and visitors always get charmed by its intoxicating ambiance.

One more thing I love about united way is their organization and marketing skills.You cannot enter in the Garba ground without Garba Pass.They issue Garba Pass for 10 days of Navratri festival. One has to pay nominal fee for male and female participants(less for female). One has to do registration at one of the centres of United Way in Vadodara city.

After few days of the registration, you can collect the pass from them .You can do registration online with courier options.Generally online registration starts before the two months of Navratri. The female participants can get refund after 10 days if they want.They also issue viewers Pass for just watching the Garba if you are not good at playing.

As per Past records, more than 80,000-90,000 people attend United Way Garba every year and it claims to have one of the largest gathering of people during the Navratri. It also holds a record in the Guinness book of Records as the biggest garba grounds in the world.

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