Hyderabad city eagerly waiting for Dandiya Raas
Hyderabad: Navratri is the time of a year when night turns into day and the city reverberates to the beat of countless dandiya songs. Over a period of time, Navrati has taken the shape of a cosmopolitan festival where people from various communities come together to take part in 'Dandiya Utsavs'.
- Participation increasing every year, with people from other communities joining with enthusiasm
- Spacious venues from Lal Bahadur Stadium, Peoples' Plaza to local convention centers and gardens being booked
- Huge footfalls seen for 'Dandiya' and 'Garba' during the 'Navratri Utsav' beginning tomorrow
A rich mix of participants from various communities like Marwari, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Agarwal, sindhi and all north and south Indian communities and local Telugu communities, irrespective of culture and tradition, are expected to participate in Dandiya Utsav 2019.
Spacious venues from Lal Bahadur Stadium, Peoples' plaza to local convention centres and gardens are being booked by the organisers to meet the increasing footfalls of 'Dandiya' and 'Garba' enthusiasts in the 'Navratri Utsav' beginning on September 29.
"Participants in the Navratri season are increasing every year, with a lot of different communities adding in with enthusiasm. This year, we are expecting one lakh footfalls. We use to have 80,000 people every year in the previous 18 years at the event.
On average around 6,000 participants per day. In the weekends, around 9,000 to 12,000 participants perform dances in traditional attire. People come for dandiya nights not only to dance for the different cultural beats, but also to experience the different cultural foods in the event.
Some show eagerness to participate in dance competitions and win prizes," said Dahrampal Singh Malhothra, organiser of Namdhari Gaurav Navratri Utsav in Hyderabad.
High demand for dandiya classes
Choreographers have started 'Dandiya' and 'Garba' classes in many parts of the city this year exclusively for Navratri. They have 200 to 300 students in each batch all through the day," says Narsimha, dance choreographer at Natraraj Dance Studio in Hyderabad. Several event organisations also began 'Dandiya' classes for their members.
"The response has been good. We had two weeks of 'Dandiya' and 'Garba' classes, which we will be wrapping up shortly. There is a health benefit too that people are realizing. It is like a session for fitness. Any person can burn 700 calories in one hour of 'Dandiya' class," says Narsimha.