Navratri 2023: Gujarat’s United Way Of Baroda Gears Up For Colourful Garba Mohotsav – News18

Navratri will be celebrated from October 15 to 24 this year across India. Even though this festival is prevalent in the whole nation, Gujarat makes no exception in making Navratri, the grandest festival in India. During the 9 days, people organise different functions and music programs to celebrate this festival. One of the most popular programmes during Navratri in Gujarat is called United Way Of Baroda (a mohotsav). It organises garba functions which are attended by thousands of people.

Boys and girls perform the Garba dance while folk singers sing Gujarati songs and bhajans. You can register for participation through its official website. The last date of registration was October 10. The presence of Atul Purohit is one of the highlights of the show. He is a classical singer who is one of the leading personalities in folk songs. In the year 1992, he established a group known as Rutumbhara group.

The United Way of Garba is celebrated on a grand scale every year nationally and internationally. It has also enlisted its name in the Limca Book Of Records for hosting the largest number of garba dancers at a single venue. United Way of Garba will complete its 36 years in 2023.

United Way of Baroda is registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1998 and FCRA. For more than three decades, it has been helping communities, local NGOs and the government to continuously improve the quality of life of the underprivileged in and around Gujarat.

Garba was organised for the first time at the Vadodara City Race Course, where the Income Tax Building is now situated. After this, the street garba was also performed in Haripath Society.

In 1988, Garba was organised in Shiv Mahal which saw the attendance of Dr Kalhans Patel and Samaben who contributed to Garba folk songs. A few years later, in 1994, Atul Purohit joined. This year, the United Way Of Baroda Garba Mahotsav will be organised at MM Patel Farm in Kalali.