Bengaluru Navratri events feature garba, dandiya and fusion dance

Bengaluru’s 102-year-old Navratri celebration has moved to Tripura Vasini this year, where Shri Vaishnava Seva Samaj and Chandramoulaeshwara Temple Trust have arranged a 100,000-square-foot air-conditioned venue.

The organisers have set aside 80,000 sq ft for dancing and 20,000 sq ft for a food court, bringing together nearly 38 Gujarati community organisations. Gates open at 8.30pm, and live performers from Rajkot are scheduled to play until about 12.30am. Organisers are also holding traditional-attire and dance contests, with winners named Prince and Princess.

At Gayatri Vihar, Gate No. 4, Palace Grounds, another Navratri gathering runs from about 7.30pm to 10.30pm and ends with an aarti. The programme includes Gujarati and Bollywood songs, along with dhol performances by Mumbai artistes Chirag and Paresh. Organisers say there will be no DJ.

Apartment-complex celebrations are also trying new formats. Malleswaram resident Ruchi Dwivedi says her group, Fusion Taal, performed garba to South Indian songs last year and is practising folk dances from Northeast India this year. North Bangalore Cultural Samithi is holding a dandiya and DJ night in Mahalakshmipuram on October 18.

More Durga Puja and dandiya events are listed here.