Opinion On garba, liberals are disconnected from reality
Their arguments only serve to pit one section of society against another and don’t help communities to come closer
Garba is not like dancing in a discotheque but a sacred dance.(Illustration by C R Sasikumar) 
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Ghanshyam Shah’s article, ‘The gatekeepers of garba’ (IE, October 13) misses the elephant in the room and is disconnected from reality.
It is the collective consciousness of the people, whose religious sentiments are associated with garba, that has given rise to the issue being raised by Shah. Unfortunately, the symptom is being called the disease. This will only lead to further discord and keep society away from building inter-community and inter-faith bridges. In the process, it will give impetus to more garba events that are organised with greater restrictions.
Anyone who wants to participate in garba should join with their daughters, sisters, wives, girlfriends and mother — the dance is, after all, the worship of the feminine. And they must dance in the appropriate attire: For example, when I visit Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Delhi, I cover my head with a handkerchief, as that is the appropriate attire for non-Sikhs who visit gurdwaras. Nobody is forcing me to visit the gurdwara; I’m going there of my own free will and I need to respect the attire, tradition and the religious sentiment of Sikhs.
Garba is not like dancing in a discotheque but a sacred dance. Many of us fast during those nine days. If young men participate only to ogle at young girls who are dancing for the divine, it is unacceptable.
Our differences are to be respected and celebrated, so inter-caste and inter-faith garba are most welcome, as they will help form the bridge of harmony. In fact, we attend garba with my daughter’s Muslim friend, as her father works for the sponsor of the garba and provides us the free passes.
The “liberals” in civil society should shun hypocrisy and see things for what they are. Being disconnected from reality will not help our society. Such articles only serve to pit one section of society against another and don’t help communities to come closer.
The writer, a displaced Kashmiri, works in the field of technology research
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