![]() “Whether it’s the drawings on the walls of the huts, whether it’s the motifs you see on the women’s skirts – all of them have significance in their religious life and their vratas, the rituals they perform.”Īsk her why Garba is so important, and Patel, who came to the US from Bombay in 1981, says, “It’s very dear to all Gujaratis because it’s worship of the Goddess.” ![]() ![]() “All social events that happen in the rural areas always have a ritualistic or religious significance,” says Smita Miki Patel, who is an educator in the folk arts of Gujarat, and has founded the India Performing Arts Center, a dance school in New Jersey. Garba is a religious and social event and harks back to the village traditions. Both Garba and Dandiya Raas, folk dances, have found their way to America and everyone from heart surgeons to hip-hop kids are taking to the large dandiya raas arenas during the festival of Navrati which heralds a season of upcoming Hindu festivals from Dusshera to Diwali. Garba, performed during Navratri, is being danced by students of India Performing Arts Center At Navratri, the Joy of Garba With the upcoming holiday season begins the Indian community’s tryst with tradition in America.
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