These days, students at National Institute of Design (NID) are enthusiastic even after a long, hectic day of class, projects and presentations. For, after class signals the beginning of the garba practice session, which goes on till 2 am.
Navratri comes as a big break for students at various institutes in Ahmedabad, who battle stress on a daily basis. And students across institutes are busy mastering the complicated garba steps.
Shambavi Tiwari, coordinator for garba at NID, said, "Garba sessions are stress busters for us. We work the entire day and get tired but nobody bunks the fun garba sessions. The seniors teach the juniors typical garba steps with the taalis while the dhol plays in the background. Most of the students have also finished their Navratri shopping."
NID, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University and Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad (MICA) are among the popular hot spots of sheri garba in Ahmedabad.
The revelry on campuses begins much before the nine nights of festivities begin. Students decorate the campus using paintings, lamps, matkas and sculptures.
Students of CEPT University give a twist to the garba, yet maintaining the essence of the Gujarati tradition. "Our garba does not involve the claps or the taali but has slow, graceful hand gestures and movements. The garba attire is very non conventional with students opting for long, printed skirts and simple spaghetti tops and a dupatta instead of the heavy chaniya choli.
"We do not encourage Bollywood music or orchestras but invite a mandali from a village in Gujarat, which dishes out Gujarati folk music," said Mansi Patel, a final year student of School of Interior Design at CEPT.
Navratri is the time when MICA celebrates its annual cultural festival, Oorja. It is a two-day event with a pre-week long celebration. This year, the theme for the week is the Crazy Week. For seven days, students have several activities and have to dress in a certain way. For instance, the first day was celebrated as Torn Day, where everyone had to wear something ragged, cut or torn the whole day.
"Students are looking forward to the garba and dandia sessions to be held for four days. Themes include Go Green, Inside Out Clothes, Cartoon Tees and so on. Oorja 2012 will end on October 20 with dandia night where other colleges are also invited," said Vidya Nair from the cultural committee at MICA.
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar also host garba night and invite students from other institutes to join in the festivities.
Source: TOI