FESTIVALS

Festivals play a key part in social life in India. This is a legacy of ancient India and even in a bustling modern city like Mumbai or Bangalore, we will still see festivals being celbrated by thousands. I am preparing for the Navratri festival which is a Gujarati Hindu festival celebrated over nine days and nights. Its highlight is evening collective dancing by young and old alike around a circle with live music and some shrine of Gods at the centre. It is very popular because it is democratic, participative and creative and artistic. People dress up for the occasion, they dance, listen and celebrate and also conduct a most beautiful arti (wick-light singing and prayer ritual) thanking God and requesting God for continued strength in life. I live in a small town in England but even here, Hindus come together from all over to celebrate, renew and nourish themselves. And all are welcome to it, including non-Hindus. Indians have taken India with them wherever they have travelled. And the Festivals continue to nourish them and help them negotiate the modern world in a peaceful and respectful way, without losing their identity.