Garba 2019: Women wear Chaniya choli, a colourful 3-piece, consisting of blouse, skirt, dupatta (PTI)
Garba is a high-energy folk dance which originated in Gujarat and is performed with passion and fervor at the auspicious Navratri festival. Garba originated from the Sanskrit word 'Garbha' which means womb. Dancers celebrating the Garba spirit dance in a circle around a big lamp or the statue of Goddess Shakti. The garba is a dance form often confused with Dandiya, another Gujarati celebration which is also performed during Navratri. Garba is performed in a circle to celebrate the cycle of life.
To celebrate garba, people wear rich, traditional and colourful attire. Women wear Chaniya choli, a colourful three-piece dress, which consists of a blouse, skirt and dupatta.
Bandhni dupattas are also worn by women for garba dance. Along with this, women also adorn themselves with jewellery, which consists of earrings, bangles and necklaces, among other pieces of jewellery.
Men usually wear kurta pyjamas and sherwanis. As headgear, men wear colourful turbans or pagdis to match their pyjamas or sherwani costumes while performing garba.
Garba 2019, Happy Navratri 2019: Women perform Garba inside a swimming pool ahead of nine-day Navratri festival, in Ahmedabad (PTI)
Another traditional Gujarati attire which men wear to celebrate garba are kafni pyjamas with a Ghagra, which is a short round kurta. Men also sometimes wear traditional colourful jackets to match their kurtas.
Dancers celebrating dandiya, which is another dance form performed during Navratri, also ensure the bamboo sticks they carry are beautifully painted with vibrant colours.
There are a huge number of songs that people dance to during garba celebrations. A number of Bollywood songs have taken over Garba celebrations over the past few years. Some of the most popular songs people dance to are 'Dholi Taro' from the movie 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Kudi Gujarat Ki' and 'Nagada Sang Dhol Baaje' from the movie 'Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela'.