Talley’s Coastal Ballroom transformed into a whirlwind of colors and music as attendees danced to the rhythms that rang through the room. A DJ played traditional folk music throughout the night, increasing in speed and intensity, hyping up the merriment of the event. Hundreds of brightly dressed attendees of Triangle Garba enjoyed a night of song, dance and high spirits.
The Hindu festival Navratri is a nine-day holiday that honors the nine forms of the Hindu goddess Durga, and different regions of India celebrate the festival uniquely. The dance styles Garba and Raas (which both originate from the Indian state of Gujarat) are performed in honor of Navratri. Garba is a traditional dance that involves repeating a set of simple movements while moving in a circular formation around the center of the room. Raas is performed in pairs with brightly decorated sticks known as dandiya. Dancers perform a repeated set of movements consisting of striking dandiya together and switching places with partners. Attendees of Triangle Garba started out the night with circles of Garba dancing, progressing to rows of Raas dancing and they finally ended the night with freestyle dancing to modern hits!
Triangle Garba was hosted on Saturday by Ektaa, a South Asian interest organization at NC State. Triangle Garba slightly differs from Wolfpack Garba, an event that NC State Ektaa has previously hosted, as Ektaa invited students from UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University to attend Triangle Garba as well.
“We planned it similarly to our past event, Wolfpack Garba, but we knew it was going to be on a bigger scale since it was Triangle Garba, and it involved UNC and Duke and their Indian organizations and all of their members,” said Sanjana Kirpalani, co-president of Ektaa and third-year studying business administration. “We’re trying to be more involved in the Triangle and [trying to] get to know the Indian associations — UNC Sangam and Duke Diya — a bit better.”
There were between 400 and 500 attendees at Wolfpack Garba. Attendees clad in traditional Indian outfits such as the lehenga choli (an intricate skirt and blouse combination worn by women)and the kurta (a tunic worn by men) packed the ballroom as well as the hallways on the third floor of Talley.
“It was run so well,” Kirpalani said. “It was so much bigger than anyone believed it could be.”
Along with South Asian students, many students of various cultural backgrounds also attended Triangle Garba.
“It was really interesting to be able to experience Garba, especially as a non-Indian,” said Dessislava Todorova, a second-year studying English. “There was so much energy in the room; it was unlike anything that I had been to before — religious celebration, party or not. It was just so much fun. Everybody was so nice.”
Todorova said that she felt that attendees were very willing to help people learn the dance moves and that she didn’t feel out of place at the event.
“[…] Everybody was so welcoming and so ready and willing to share their culture, which was incredibly sweet,” Todorova said.
Ektaa stays true to its motto “Unity Within Diversity” by organizing events such as Triangle Garba as well as the Oak City Revolution, which is a South Asian fusion dance competition that will be held on March 17, 2018.
“Ektaa strives to help South Asian students celebrate their culture on campus,” Kirpalani said. “We also strive to educate and make other people more aware of our culture, and we welcome anyone to come celebrate our holidays and festivals with us. All of our events are very inclusive and we encourage anyone to come have fun, take part and celebrate our culture with us.”
Maitri Patel, a first-year studying communication, dances during Triangle Garba. NC State organization Ektaa hosted Triangle Garba in conjunction with student organizations Diya from Duke and Sangam from UNC-Chapel Hill in Talley Ballroom Saturday. Garba is a form of dance that is traditionally done to celebrate the end of the nine-day festival Navaratri.
