Diwali 2009: Perfomers
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Performers announced for Diwali 2009 in both Auckland and Wellington include the exciting Gujarati dance group and Rajasthani puppets
Gujarati dance group brings memories of home
One of India’s top folk dance groups from Gujarat - original home of many Indian New Zealanders - will perform at the 2009 Diwali Festival of Lights.
The state of Gujarat in western India is renowned for both the business acumen of its citizens and for being the home of one of India’s best known dances – the Dandiya Raas or stick dance.
The roots of the Dandiya Raas lie in Hindu mythology, when Lord Krishna danced on the shores of Yamuna river on a moonlit night with his beloved Gopis, or milkmaids.
Men and women in swirling skirts dance in two concentric circles holding two bamboo sticks called dandiyas, which they tap against their partner’s sticks.
The Dandiya Raas is a special feature of Navaratri, the nine-day festival which leads up to Diwali.
Other dances popular in Gujarat include the graceful Garba and the Mix Ras, in which male performers leap a metre into the air.
The Saurashtra Lok Kala Kendra dance group will perform at both Auckland and Diwali festivals. They will also perform at the Garba Night hosted by the Wellington Indian Association on Saturday October 17 at the TSB Bank Arena.
The Saurashtra Lok Kala Kendra dance group from Gujarat has been brought to New Zealand with the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Rajasthani puppets
The visiting Rajasthani puppets will form another highlight of this year’s events.
The puppets are colourful, lively and laugh-out-loud funny. Kids and grown-ups alike will love the Rajasthani puppets at this year’s festivals. Puppet master Harji Bhatt and his troupe are based in Jaipur, one of the most beautiful old cities in India’s desert state of Rajasthan. Their painted puppets are hand-carved from mango wood.
Puppetry in Rajasthan has a history of more than 1,000 years. Traditionally puppeteers from the nomadic Bhatt community went from village to village presenting popular stories from the sacred epic poems the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
