Generation next gets ready for Navratri

AHMEDABAD, Oct 6: Navratri is round the corner, beckoning the young generation with the sound of drums dhol, the yellow glare of sodium...

AHMEDABAD, Oct 6: Navratri is round the corner, beckoning the young generation with the sound of drums dhol, the yellow glare of sodium lights and the sheer fun of dancing. The puritans may complain of commercialisation, but that in no way detracts from the popularity of the festival.

Like every year, this Navratri too will be dominated by a single tune borrowed from Bollywood. Every other girl will fashion herself on the Aishwarya Rai of the runaway hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam8217;. And the garba tune of Dholi Taro Dhol Baje8217; from the same film will hold sway at all the garba functions.

It is time to buy chania cholis, dandias and Kutchhi kedias, mojidis and other accessories. 8220;I have bought chania cholis worth Rs 9,000. This Navratri, the craze is for the chania choli styled on Rai,8221; says Lalitya Shah, a second-year college student. She says that Dholi Taro Dhol8217; is her favourite Garba tune. 8220;The crowd will go into a tizzy over this song. The tune is too good,8221; she says.

But fun for youngsters is pocket-pinching for parents. 8220;Every Navratri my daughter Sonal spends at least Rs 6,000 on new chania-cholis and jewellery,8221; says Mahesh Jhaveri. He bemoans the fact that his daughter just refuses to touch the last year8217;s dress.

The market for chania-cholis and other paraphernalia is in full swing. The chania-choli market at Law Garden is teeming with buyers. 8220;A good pair of chania-choli costs anything between Rs 2,500 to Rs 20,000,8221; says Kalpesh Patel of Ghunghat Institute of Indian Folk Dances, whose group has been hired to perform at Indore and Kanpur. However, Patel complains that the festival has been 8220;too commercialised8221;. 8220;The religious feeling is totally missing,8221; he says.

Even in Dandia there is a wide variety. One can get them in tricolour or made from acrylic, with bearings for smooth brandishing or even aluminum ones.

But Navratri also means big money. Well-known organisers have booked choicest venues and best singers to pull in crowds. Says Himanshu Shah of SOI Group of Industries, who has organised Dandia Dhamal 8217;99 at L D Arts Ground and at Gokul Gram near New High Court during October 9-20, 8220;Beside having the reputed orchestra of Priti-Pinki to perform, we have tied up with Channel V, whose VJs will attend our function for all the 11 days.8221; The SOI has also tied up with Coca-Cola to get three-four celebrities to attend its fete. Though season ticket for SOI fete is Rs 660, students will get the same for just Rs 300.

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Gujarat Cooperative Credit and Supplier Society Ltd has also made arrangements for garba function Yuganta Utsav at the ground behind Doordarshan Tower. The Society has also organised concerts of Kamal Khan on October 8.