Kalaben Panchal is busier than ever with just few daysremaining for the beginning of Navaratri. As the Chairperson of Gujarati MahilaMandal, Panjim and as a devout Gujarati, she is toiling overtime to make surethat this year’s celebrations go without a hitch. With the number of peopleattending the Navaratri celebrations increasing every year, the Gujarati Samajin Panjim is working towards keeping the proceedings as traditional aspossible. Kalaben says, “The celebrations in Goa are still traditional and notcommercialised to a great extent. We want to continue it the same way.”
Gujaratis in Goa, much like Gujaratis in other parts of thecountry, celebrate it with great zeal and worship Goddess Navdurga for ninedays. The celebrations in Panjim were started by Gujarati Samaj Panjim in1950s, in individual homes because of the unavailability of a common place tocelebrate the festival collectively. Kalaben who was a member of the Samajthen, recalls, “The Samaj found a better place in Maganlal Sadan in the early1970s and it made way for festivities on a much larger scale. However, thecommunity didn’t have a common place for dancing the dandiya and garba. Aftershuttling between various venues like Maganlal Sadan, Mahalaxmi temple, KalaAcademy and Club Gaspar Dias for several years, the Samaj zeroed in on ZarinaTowers in St. Inez in 2000.” Till date, the religious activities and therituals are carried out in Zarina Towers and the garba and dandiya is danced atMahalaxmi temple.
In Mapusa, Shamji Moorji Kataria is credited for havingstarted the Navaratri celebration 20-30 years ago. It started as a religiousritual but as years passed it became a festival. Hardly 30 people gathered forthe first Navratri in Mapusa. He says,“When I started the Samaj in Mapusa, we celebrated Navaratri as a religiousritual. Today it is celebrated in all cities in Goa as a festival of ninenights. It feels good when people from different sections of societyirrespective of caste and culture come together to worship Maa Durga and dancethe Dandiya,” says the founder of Kutch Kadva Patidar Samaj, Mapusa.
According to Jagdish Bhanushali, member of Vasco GujaratiSamaj, the Navaratri celebrations in the state differ slightly from place toplace, though the religious significance still remains the same. He says,“Nothing dampens the spirit of the devout followers of Goddess Durga, as weindulge in the celebrations of Navaratri with true devotion and purity, yearafter year”.
