Uttarayan and Navratri- two quintessential festivals of Gujarat

Festivals are integral part of a culture, and a way of coming together as a society and celebrating life in general. India celebrates festivals through out the year; some of the festivals are common all over India, and some festivals are unique to particular places. I lived in Gujarat for more than a decade and loved its unique way of celebrating some of the festivals. Though there are many important festivals, the two quintessential festivals that define Gujarat are Uttarayan and Navratri. The authentic Gujarati traditions come to life during these times.

Uttarayan:

Makar Sankranti (winter solstice) is celebrated across India on 14^th January, and is called differently in different parts of India- Makar Sankranti in most parts, Bihu in Assam, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Maghi in Punjab, and Uttarayan in Gujarat. It’s perhaps celebrated the most enthusiastically in Gujarat.

Kite flying is the most important part of the celebrations in Gujarat. When I was in Ahmedabad, just before my first experience of the festival, I felt a lot of buzz around me, both at office and outside. There would be a kite shop every here and there; people would start buying and flying these kites much before Uttarayan, at least a week, and would continue flying them much afterwards!

The enthusiasm and energy around kite flying on Uttarayan day needs to be seen to be believed! In other parts of the country, kite flying is largely limited to the young people, and teenagers specifically. But not in Gujarat (to a large extent in Rajasthan too). People of all age groups, irrespective of gender, and religion would fly scores of kites on the day. I have fond memories of trying to fly a few kites with my Gujarati friends, though without much success!

All the members of the family get involved. Early in the morning, they would assemble on the terraces and start flying the kites; with competitions to cut each other’s kites. The families would carry all sorts of snacks to the terrace, and would play loud music, and fly their kites with absolute joy. The joy and happiness needs to be seen on their faces. I have hardly seen anything comparable anywhere else in India. 

And it continues till late in the evening! These days with flying lanterns being used as kites have gained popularity. However, I clearly remember, some 14 years ago in 2007, when I experienced my first Uttarayan in Ahmedabad, there was no flying lanterns; and even then young people would keep flying the traditional kites in the dark! Incredible it might sound, but it is true! You can still see this practice in Gujarat.

In recent times, Government of Gujarat has been organizing an International Kite Festival to attract tourists to the state. That creates some kind of buzz, but doesn’t really provide the charm of a traditional festival.

Like elsewhere, festivals have their own foods. The special foods for Uttarayan in Gujarat is the Undhiyu and Jalebi, along with other special dishes. It’s a mixed-vegetable curry made by using typical traditional spices/ flavors. However, what was surprising to me was that in spite of being a traditional curry not so difficult to make, Undhiyu is sold by shop keepers in the markets, and almost all households buy them from outside!

Navratri:

The other most amazing festival of Gujarat is Navratri; though it’s being celebrated in most parts of India in recent times, nowhere can it come even close to how it is celebrated in Gujarat. Navratri (meaning nine nights) is nine-day festival that culminates on the 10^th day- Dussehra, celebrated across India in various forms, but basically worshipping the Goddess Durga.  

Navratri is huge in Gujarat, I mean really huge- both socially and commercially. If you are in Gujarat during Navratri, during the day-time, you will hardly see any activity to sense that there something big happening around. But as you come closer to the evening, a strong vibe builds up all around; you can easily sense the excitement. Every village, every colony, housing society or any kind of collective of households would have a common gathering/ puja point. A picture/ image of Goddess Amba (form of Durga) would occupy the center stage.

As it gets dark, both men and women, boys and girls would turn up at the gathering point in traditional dresses called Kafni-Pyjama for men and Chaniya-Choli for women. These traditional dresses are so colourful and beautifully designed that the whole space becomes a visual treat. Slowly the traditional dance steps of Dandiya and Garba would roll out with the most enthusiastic ones leading the way spontaneously. And gradually, everyone else would join them, and in course of time, everyone would be dancing around the image of the Goddess with a few onlookers who really don’t know the steps (like me). The dance steps are not that difficult, but not everyone can perform with a beautiful rhythm that symbolizes the two dance forms. In recent times, this has been commercialized to a great extent with professional dance schools teaching the steps to young boys and girls a few months before Navratri.

These days more than the colonies and housing societies, clubs and other such commercial organizers have become centers of attraction. They charge hefty fees for booking tickets just to enter their venues. Some of the venues don’t allow entry without traditional dresses. Inside the venues, the scene looks absolutely gorgeous with thousands of beautifully dressed men and women dancing in circular motion; and there are also small groups enjoying their own moments together.

As the days of Navratri progress towards Dussehra, the crowd and the enthusiasm grow exponentially. The last four days see chaotic scenes at Garba venues. But it’s mostly a controlled chaos, very much enjoyable.    

At the end of Navratri, Dussehra follows the next morning. Unlike other parts of India, Dussehra is relativelu subdued in Gujarat. The only enthusiasm around Dussehra is perhaps around the traditional foods- Fafda and Jalebi. Every household buys them in kilos and enjoy through the day along with other delicacies.

Some of the best places to experience Garba: Vadodara (MS University, United Way, Vadodara Garba); Ahmedabad (Mirchi, Friends Garba, GMDC ground, Rajpath club, Karnavati club).

Though there are other important festivals in Gujarat like Diwali, Gujarati New Year, Rath Yatra, Shamla ji Melo, Janmastami and some organized festivals like Rann Utsav and Modhera Dance festival, these two are really special, and very different from other parts of the country. Thus, if you want to experience Gujarati culture, these are the best times to visit Gujarat.