Dandiya dance and colourful costumes shine at Navratri festival

The event dubbed ‘D3 Festival – Dance Disco Dandiya’ was recently held by The Wirohub Events and Media at the Al Dana Club. It featured a brilliant line-up of DJs to spin top garba and dandiya beats in Doha.Live dhol (drum) music and food stalls with Indian cuisine were available. There were many prizes for guests such as best dancer, best dressed and best couple. Local DJ Willy and Arun entertained the crowd and made them dance the whole night. Celebrity DJ Roopali, who came all the way from Ahmedabad in India, played the traditional garba and Gujrati song. People of all ages came with families and enjoyed the festival. Traditional handicraft stalls were also available at the venue.Speaking to Community, Mohamed Omer Khan, one of the organisers, said: “It was jam-packed Navratri, a traditional Indian festival event where a crowd of more than 3, 200 people witnessed the colourful art and cultural activities and the live food stalls serving zesty Indian dishes, a humongous stage, amusing sound, and lights display, live dhol and LED walls for a dash of effervescence. The chief guest on the occasion was Mohammad Sohail Bukhari, a renowned business man in Doha, who gave away awards to the winners in different contests.“The special prizes were awarded for the best dressed male and female attendees, along with the awards for the best dancers – including best child dancer. The oldest – ‘young at heart’ – couple was awarded for their enthusiasm and several other gifts were freely distributed to other deserving members of the audience.”Omer further said: “DJ Roopali entertained the crowd with her melodious beats while DJ Willy had them swinging to the rhythm of popular Bollywood remixes. One of the highlights of the entertaining evening was the large ‘Garba’ circle that had all those in attendance forming a huge oval shaped formation.“Garba is a traditional folk dance celebrated during the Navratri festival. The dance styles vary from place to place in India and the traditional costume of the dancers is in red, pink, yellow, orange, and brightly coloured chanya, choli dupatta, big mirror motifs adorned with heavy jewellery such as necklaces, sparkling bangles, waist belts, and long oxidised earrings.”The organiser added: “Traditionally men wear an ethnic costume and a pajama or a dhoti with an oxidised bracelet and necklace rounded off with a colourful turban.“The dandiya dance has both men and women generally operating in two circular formations with partners facing each other and touching their dandiyas – wooden sticks – to rhythmic beats before moving on to the next person in the opposite circle.”Explaining the Navrati festival, Omer said: “It is a typical Indian festival that spans over nine nights and 10 days and it is celebrated every year in different parts of the country, especially in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The festival generally falls in the months of September and October.“The main sponsors of the ‘D3 Festival – Dance Disco Dandiya’ were Tea Time, 7 Spices Mumbai and Royal Regis. Asian Medical Centre was the health partner. Radio One Fm 89.6 was the radio partner and Qatar Living was the official media partner for the event.”Subramanya Hebbagelu, a prominent member of the Indian community, said: “It was an exciting experience to celebrate the festival with a big gathering in an electrifying atmosphere. The Navrati festival is celebrated earnestly by the Indian community in Qatar. The event provided an opportunity to celebrate the occasion with large numbers of people at one place.“People wearing colourful traditional dresses were entertained with popular Bollywood songs. The most exciting were the kids who enjoyed the festival with their parents. It is like learning their traditions from their parents.“Further, such kinds of events help in developing a real sense of community among the Indian expatriates. As they live and working away from home in a friendly country, the get an opportunity to enjoy the occasion together and socialise with each other.”