Happy Navratri

Here is an excerpt...

Soon, the monsoon season was almost over, and the heat and humidity of Mumbai showed its ugly face again. Once in a while, Mumbai got scattered showers. Actually, the rain was unwelcome now as it got hotter and more humid after it stopped raining. One afternoon, Jai and his friends had gone to Jai’s house after the college. They were all in Jai’s air-conditioned room. Punk was on the computer surfing the web. Subra was reading the newspaper and Bunty was sprawled across Jai’s bed. Kaahi and Jai were sitting on a sofa.

“Are we going for નવરાત્રી (Navratri)?” Bunty asked.

“Yes,” Kaahi replied.

“Did you get the tickets?” he continued.

“Of course, for all nine nights,” she replied with a smile.

Right next to their college was a huge open arena with a big stage on one side. Every year, during the nine nights of નવરાત્રી (Navratri), the entire place came alive with music and dance. An orchestra played live music on the stage while people danced ‘ગરબા (garba)’ or ‘રાસ (raas)’. Huge speakers were located all around the ground so that music could be heard loud and clear.

Indian parents are very strict and they rarely allow their daughters to go out at night. But નવરાત્રી (Navratri) is a religious festival. Even the strict parents allow their daughters to go out in the evening, so the girls really look forward to નવરાત્રી (Navratri).

Everyone looked beautiful in their traditional Indian clothes. Every night they held a dance and a ‘best dressed couple’ competition. People were less interested in the prizes, but more in the bragging rights.

Every night, the organizers invited one Bollywood super-star as chief-guest. Sometimes, they joined the dance, and people looked forward to meeting their favorite star in person.

The night of નવરાત્રી (Navratri) arrived. It was past 10:00 PM when the five of them reached the ground to take part in નવરાત્રી (Navratri) celebrations. It was a hot and balmy night. People were sweating profusely as they danced and twirled to the rhythm of the music blaring through speakers, and their faces glistened in the bright lights. Jai and Kaahi started to dance. Bunty joined them, dancing with his eyes closed. His was more of a ‘Bhangra’ – a style of dance performed by the people of Punjab (where he was from) - than a ગરબા (Garba) or a રાસ (Raas). People around him looked at one another and smiled seeing him dance differently, but Bunty didn’t care. He was doing it for himself, and not to win a prize. Punk and Subra stood in a corner. They never danced. They just surveyed the dancing crowd and enjoyed the music while smoking. It was past 2:00 AM when the music finally stopped.