My Memorable Navratri Journey: 9 Days of Garba, Friendship, and Fun in Ahmedabad

Hello friends, how are you all? Let’s start today’s post.

This post is going to be interesting because today I will talk about the Navratri festival. As you may know, Navratri is celebrated with great enthusiasm here, and it is celebrated all over India.

^{It’s Garba Time with my Ahmedabad company}

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Currently, I am in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and throughout Gujarat, Navratri has a unique craze. Here, Navratri is celebrated with the vibrant tradition of Garba dance, and for nine days, people dance with immense joy and excitement. This is what keeps India connected, through the spirit of love for one another.

So, you all must have understood that today I will share with you how my nine days of Navratri in Gujarat were spent.

^{Picture with beautiful 😻 girls}

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So, during Navratri, there were no official holidays from our office, but they did say that if we arrived early, we could leave early in the evening to enjoy Garba nights. So, we all started going to the office at 11 am, then left by 8 pm to enjoy Garba at night.

Here in Ahmedabad, there’s an entry ticket for Garba, with different charges for different venues. But my approach is simple: I don’t buy tickets anywhere, and I usually manage to get a free pass every day from somewhere.

So, in the evenings, my colleagues and I, who take advantage of this “free service,” dress up in kurta and pyjama and head out to do Garba.

This time, I ended up going for Garba for 8 consecutive days starting from the 9th. This really turned into a memorable time for me. I even went on the first day and bought a kurta specifically for Garba and a cool pair of Khadi-style sandals.

^{At Kirtidan Gadavi show}

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They weren’t too expensive – the kurta cost only 500 rupees, which is around 60 STEEM, and the sandals were about 14 STEEM, all just for Garba.

During Navratri, something funny happened to me. The first two days went fine; we all went out for Garba. But then came the day for the event at Xavier’s College, where all my office friends and even our manager would be attending.

^{St. Xaviers Colleges - too much public}

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So, I wanted to get ready in advance and went to the salon to trim my hair and beard. However, the barber messed up my beard, so I had no choice but to go clean-shaven. The barber then asked if I wanted to shave my mustache too, and I was like, “No way, please just spare my mustache!” Feeling a bit down, I returned home with a long face, got ready, and met my friend, who was having a field day laughing at my look, as if he’d never seen me without a beard before.

^{Group pic in traditional attire}

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So, we hopped on the bike and headed for Xavier’s College, where all my office friends were waiting. As soon as they saw me, they couldn’t stop making jokes – some calling me “IPS officer,” others “constable.” What a laugh it was! I had to tell them, “Come on, guys, we’re here to enjoy Garba, let’s just dance!”

^{My New look after clean shave}

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Honestly, though, I felt a bit self-conscious about my look. But we enjoyed the Garba night, danced for about two hours, and then all of us went to a nearby square to eat and satisfy our hunger. While drinking Jamun shots, we made a plan to sit by the riverfront for a bit, so we all went there, had some chat, and then returned home.

^{Attanding Garba show with my office friend}

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That Saturday ended, and the next day, Sunday, one of our office colleagues gave us free tickets again, but there were only two this time. So, my friend @esther97 and I went to Kirtidan Gadhvi’s Garba show. It was lightly drizzling, and we danced right at the front. Wow! The way Kirtidan Gadhvi sang brought the entire crowd together as one – it was amazing.

^{Yummy lunch - Paneer n Chapati}

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The next day, we went to another place. We woke up early, had paneer curry and roti for lunch, and then headed to what was the best Garba show yet. The decorations there were incredible, and the crowd was dancing in perfect sync, following the same steps, which was such a joy to watch. So, my friends and I joined in and followed the same steps. That day, we walked about 5.5 km and danced non-stop for 2 hours.

^{Some Beautiful clicks}

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This is what I call Navratri madness! This day will always stay with me, and through this Steem diary, I want to preserve these special moments forever.

With this, my Navratri celebration post comes to an end. See you in my next post; until then, my regards to you all!