Submitted By




The Dance of Swords

Dandiya and Garba are the featured dances of Navratri evenings in North India, originating in Gujarat. Navaratri is the longest Hindu festival celebrated all over India for nine consecutive nights in praise of Lord Rama (Hero of the Epic Ramayana) and Goddess Durga from the end of September to early October.


The main difference between the Garba and Dandiya dance performances is that Garba is performed before Aarti (worshipping ritual) as devotional performances in the honor of the Goddess while Dandiya is performed after it, as a part of merriment. While Garba is performed exclusively by women, men and women join in for Raas Dandiya. Also known as "The Dance of Swords" as performers use a pair of colorfully decorated sticks as symbols, the circular movements of Dandiya Raas are much more complex than that of Garba. The origin of these dance performances or Raas can be traced back to the life of Lord Krishna. Today, Raas is not only an important part of Navaratra in Gujarat but extends itself to other festivals related to harvest and crops as well.

Source: Wikipedia
