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GARBA AND RAAS
Garba and Raas finds its roots primarily in the West-Indian province of Gujarat. These folk dance forms are traditionally danced during the nine nights of the Navaratri festival to worship Goddess Durga and the eight other female Goddesses. Garba is a graceful dance typically danced in a circle to symbolize time as a cyclic, never-ending entity. Raas is performed with Dandiya (two wooden sticks) with a partner. It represents the nine day battle between Goddess Durga and the powerful Mahishasura (Demon).
Garba and Raas has also evolved into a performance-oriented style of dance, in which traditional garba and raas sequences are combined to create a unique dance routine. These usually involve dancing in several creative formations outside of the typical circle. Unlike social garbas, in which people repeat the dance sequences several times continuously throughout the night, a variety of steps are incorporated in a short span of time in a typical Garba/Raas dance item.
Raas also depicts the dance that Lord Krishna engaged with Radha and other Gopikas thousands of years ago in Brindavan. It is said that Lord Krishna’s melodious flute drew all the Gopikas, who unconsciously dropped everything to listen to his mesmerizing music. He duplicated himself so he could dance with each Gopika simultaneously and this dance is referred to as “Raas Leela.”