Shila, Yogesh’s wife, belongs to a small Gujarati town called Talaja, where garba was played in every street in small groups. Some, in fact, have discovered the spirit of community revelry away from home. Like Yogesh, several Gujaratis who call Chennai home still carry traditions, rituals and stories of their experience. Now, it is the same system, but there are far more people and the live garba music - which once only featured a tabla and dhol - also has violins and other instruments,” he shares. “When I was younger, these celebrations would only have a few people, so everyone would play garba. Despite being born and raised here, miles away from his native in Kutch, Yogesh has celebrated Navratri traditionally, with his fellow Samaj members. To reach atma swaroop, there is a need for introspection that requires physical strength, for which we perform garba,” says 73-year-old Yogesh Patel, a member of Kutch Kadava Patidar Samaj, Chennai. “The matti ka gada (pot) is like the perishable human body and the diya is atma swaroop (self-actualisation). A coloured earthen pot called garbo with a diya in the middle - kept lit for all nine days - is placed in front of the Goddess, who is serenaded with aarti and puja daily, followed by hours of garba and dandiya.
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