Navratri: The World’s Longest Dance Festival Now Thriving Overseas, Outpacing India by Tenfold
Global Navratri Celebrations Are Giving Tough Competition to International Festivals, with Business Booming Ten Times More than in India
by Prashant Kapadia/NHN
Mumbai- If you ask anyone from a five-year-old child to an elderly person in their seventies or eighties how long Navratri is celebrated, the answer will be nine days. But the reality is quite different. Today, the world’s longest dance festival, Navratri, is not just confined to nine days but extends to a full five months. It may sound surprising, but it’s true. Let us take you through how this nine-day festival has now become a five-month-long celebration.
The Gujarati saying, inspired by Ardeshar Framji Khabardar’s poetry, goes, “Wherever a Gujarati resides, there exists Gujarat.” In today’s context, it means wherever Gujaratis are, Navratri is celebrated. Artists and organizers from Gujarat have been instrumental in taking Navratri global. What might astonish you is that the business generated by Navratri abroad is ten times larger than what it is in India. Yes, you heard that right—Navratri commerce overseas now outstrips India’s by a factor of ten. The reason behind this is that Gujaratis living abroad cannot celebrate Navratri continuously for nine days. Hence, they organize Garba nights every weekend from June to October.
As soon as the monsoon season begins in India, around July-August, artists start their international tours. Their preferred destinations include Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Australia, European countries like the UK, France, Poland, as well as Tanzania, South Africa, the USA, and Canada. During this period, many artists take to social media, inviting people to their shows in cities like Melbourne, Sydney, or London. These artists typically spend four to five months abroad, where they bring the spirit of Garba to the Gujarati diaspora.
All Weekend Shows Go Housefull
Since Navratri celebrations began overseas, this festival dedicated to the Mother Goddess has not only become the world’s longest but has also evolved into a global festival. What’s even more fascinating is that it’s not just Gujaratis but also the local non-Gujarati citizens of these countries who enthusiastically participate in Garba.
One of the leading companies organizing Navratri events abroad is Yash Entertainment. And when it comes to singers, Garba Princess Aishwarya Majmudar stands at the top. This year, Aishwarya is slated to perform nearly forty shows abroad under the Yash Entertainment banner. But it’s not just Aishwarya—over half a dozen other artists are also heading overseas to celebrate Navratri.
Speaking about the global Navratri business, Mitul Shah of Yash Entertainment stated, “After the Covid pandemic, we started organizing Navratri at a global level. For us, this is not just a business; it’s a humble effort to spread Gujarat’s cultural heritage across the world. While there are financial aspects involved, we take immense pride in the fact that Gujaratis around the globe are embracing the Navratri festival with open arms. This has led to a surge in demand, with many organizations from different countries reaching out to Yash Entertainment for organizing shows. We started with just 5-7 shows in a year, and now, in just five years, we are conducting over 40 Navratri shows worldwide within five months. Gujaratis living abroad, especially the youth, are actively participating in these events.”
Sharing her experience of performing abroad, Garba Princess Aishwarya Majmudar said, “Celebrating Navratri with devotees of the Mother Goddess from different countries is a unique experience. We have to prepare extensively for Garba events abroad. Since the preferences of Gujaratis residing in different continents vary, we tailor our performances accordingly. For instance, the Garbas sung in Vadodara differ significantly from those in Mumbai. Similarly, the tastes of American Gujaratis are distinct from those of British Gujaratis. The latter, having lived in the UK for over a century, prefer traditional Garbas, while Gujaratis in America, who have been there for around 50-60 years, lean towards new Garbas with a Bollywood touch. Therefore, to ensure the success of these events, we curate playlists that cater to the diverse tastes of audiences in various countries. While this is a challenging task for any artist, I am happy to have succeeded in earning the love and blessings of Gujaratis living abroad.”