MSU faculty hums with enthusiasm for traditional garba

VADODARA: Monisha Mohanraj from Chennai is pursuing her masters in painting at M S University's Faculty of Fine Arts. Forget Gujarati, Mohanraj can't speak even Hindi. But this does not stop her from dancing to the tunes of garba.
Ahead of Navratri, Gujarat's longest dance festival - MSU's Faculty of Fine Arts - which has turned into a melting point for students from across the country has come alive.Since a fortnight, students have begun practice sessions for the nine day revelry in which they will swing to the beats of 'dhols' and 'manjiras'.
As the countdown for Navratri festivities have begun in the state, students at country's premier fine arts institute have already begun preparations for hosting the garba at the faculty which follows a unique tradition in which garbas are sung without use of any mic or loudspeakers.
Unlike the conventional garbas that is performed in variations of five and six steps, since decades students and teachers of the faculty swing using steps of 14, 10 and eight steps.
"Our garbas are performed to the melody of traditional musical instruments without the use of loud speakers. Traditional folk songs set to the tunes of dholaks add life to the dance form," says Nakul Patel, an alumni of the faculty, who has been playing dhol at the faculty's garba since nine years.
"The beauty of our faculty's garba is that everyone brings their unique essence to the dance. Students belonging to various states wear their traditional costumes to the dance. It is a proud moment because each us gets to represent our state during the nine-day celebration," says Mohanraj.
"Students who are new to the dance form look forward to the festival. The faculty's garba becomes a reunion of sorts for the alumni, professors and students who share a beautiful bond with the festival," says Shweta Kaneria, a first year student of mural painting who belongs to Junagadh.
"It is also at this time of the year that we get an opportunity to meet and interact with our alumni which are spread across the country. Many artists make it a point to be part of this annual festival," says Aditya Rathore, a second year masters student of painting, who has been part of the festivities since the last three years.