The event started off with everyone arriving in their colorful and traditional attire. Few of them arrived with their decorated aarti thaalis(see picture). Most of them were teamed beautifully with all the required pooja essentials for the occasion. Then a wonderful heart and soul touching and cleansing Aartis were sung in praise of the goddess. Following the aarti was the ‘Garba’ where people were dancing in a circle clapping rhythmically. At every step they gracefully bend sideways, the arms coming together in sweeping gestures, up and down, left and right, each movement ending in clap resulting in a highly energetic dance. The garba event lasted for an hour after which there was a break for refreshments. The trademark of the Navaratri festival is the dandiya dance – where men and women join a dance circle, holding small polished sticks or dandiyas. As Amdocsians whirled to the music, they striked the dandiyas in rhythm.

“When I was young, I used to dance on the nine nights. There was so much excitement. Navratri is the time to celebrate. This is a festival which brings in so much of colour. Girls dress up in their traditional dress. Everybody is in a festive mood. When I was a student, we used to do garba together at the campus. I have very fond memories of those days. It was a community affair.”, said one of the enthusiastic players. “Navratri is a vibrant festival. There is so much of colour, music and spirit associated with this festival. Everyone seems to enjoy this festival. I am proud to see that even though we are distant from our country we are not distant from our culture and traditions.”, added another. “I enjoyed it a lot. I tried my best but sometimes I got the beat wrong but it was lots of fun.”, said a participant of non – Indian origin.

The whole atmosphere was very joyful. Some people enjoyed by playing while others participated from a distance as they were watching others playing garba. The colorful dresses and jovial mood during the revelry was a big motivation to the localites as even they joined into the celebrations. The following prizes were given on the night: Best Aarti Thaali, Best Dressed Male, Best Dressed Female, Best Dancer Male and Best Dancer Female.