The origins of the festival
The word Garbo or Garba originated from the Sanskrit word “Garbhdeep”- an earthen pot with circular holes. The earthen pot is a symbol of the human body and the lamp lit inside signifies the divine soul. The nine-night festival is celebrated in three parts. The first part worships Goddess Durga to destroy evil and give power to fight with all problems. The second part reveres Goddess Saraswati for wisdom and art. The last and third part is for Goddess Lakshmi to bestow prosperity, celebrated just after monsoon which is a good time for harvests.The 10th day is celebrated as Dushera (Vijayadashmi), which is also a very famous festival of India.
The dancing
commonplace in big cities.
Unlike North Indian culture where the male is the dominant gender, in this part of the world it was totally opposite. This is a time for women to be out of their houses and whirling, uninhibited, towards the divinity that hides within her own body. They get out for the festival at nights and are completely safe. We had an awesome trip to Gujarat, full of fun, dance, music, culture, heritage and religious aspects and I would love to go again.
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