Dandiya queen gets the garba crowd going

Falguni Pathak

Two and half year-old Yana, dressed in her blue and pink chaniya choli in bandhini print and with matching dandiya sticks in her hands, couldn’t wait to dance to her favourite song O piya..O piya…leke doli aa.

The song is one of the cutest songs sung by India’s dandiya queen Falguni Pathak who made her audiences at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney groove to traditional Gujarati and Bollywood numbers in Dandiya Bash 2010, early this month.

Falguni is unmatched in success when it comes to Navratri events. In Melbourne last year, she lived up to her world-renowned reputation, mesmerizing her audience, and demonstrating each night why she is the queen of dandiya. The success of 2009 propelled Oxides Events Management to invite Falguni back for Navratri 2010, this time for a double bonanza – to perform both in Melbourne and Sydney.

As the diva came on stage with Aao padahro mare desh being played in the background, hundreds of people dressed in colourful ethnic attire hit the floor to dance to her tunes. In no time they were swaying, lehngas and kurtas swirling, as she belted out those traditional dandiya numbers.

Earlier in the evening, the boyish star had even managed to look demure as she rolled down the window of her pink Hummer to wave to fans close up, and happily posed for photographs.

Navratri, the Festival of Nine Nights, is the most awaited festival for the Gujarati community – be it in India or Australia. This year it starts on Friday, the 8th of October and will continue for 9 days until Saturday, the 16th of October. It commences on the first day (pratipada) of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashwin. The festival is celebrated for nine nights once every year during the beginning of October, although as the dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar. The festival may be held for a day more or a day less.

The trademark of the Navratri festival is the dandiya dance – where men and women join a dance circle, holding small polished sticks or dandiyas. As they whirl to the music, they strike the dandiyas in rhythm. The other popular dance form is the garba, performed before the aarti as devotional performance in honour of the goddess while dandiya is performed after it. While garba is performed exclusively by women, men and women join in for Raas Dandiya.

Performed in Goddess Durga’s honour, this dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between the Goddess and Mahishasura, the mighty demon-king, and is nicknamed “The Sword Dance”. The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Durga. The costumes worn for the dances are traditional and alive with colour.

With thousands of Indians having made Australia their home, these dances have become the main attraction at community celebrations every year and this year was no different.

It was a riot of colour as young and old filled the Rosehill Racecourse in their traditional attire. While the women wore traditional dresses such as colorful embroidered choli, ghagra (the long flowing skirt) and bandhani dupattas dazzling with mirror work and heavy jewellery, some of the menfolk sported equally elaborate turbans and kedias (the short frock). “Navratri is the only time of the year when we get to take out our traditional dress and wear it. There is no fun playing dandiya if you are not dressed in a chaniya choli,” giggled Sydney-based Shalini who boughther glam outfit in India last year. “All year long we keenly await Navratri,” added Meenal.

There is a blend of old and new in everything designed these days but chaniya choli patterns remain the same. Their colours are usually bright.

As Falguni performed her popular songs with the enthusiasm of a teenager, the crowd whirled and moved their feet and arms in a choreographed manner to her tunes with lots of drum beats.

Age was no bar when it came to dandiya dance. While young men and women played their dandiya sticks with precision, young kids were happy just dancing with them in their hands. And even at 60 years of age Rajeshwari matched the energy of the younger members of the family when they pulled her to join their dance circle. “It reminds me of my youth when we played dandiya for hours all together,” she said happily. “No one like Falguni when it comes to Gujarati songs.”

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Falguni Pathak packed up her act after four long hours that night, but for the Gujjus in Sydney it’s a long week ahead to immerse themselves in Navratri and Dussehra celebrations with all-night dandiya dances, as they combine religion and devotion with recreation and fun.