Hyderabad Gearing up for Navratri

Hyderabad: After the razzmatazz Ganesh Chaturthi, the city is set to be decked up in colour once again, for the Dasara Navratri, with artisans giving final touches to idols of different forms of Goddess Durga, pandal organisers gearing up for daily events and event companies planning dandiya and garba dance events.

Given that the festival falls right in the election season, with more curbs set to be in place for organisers, politicians look to make the most of the festival by seeking to please vote banks and invoking deities in their speeches.

This is also the season for Telangana’s traditional Bathukamma, wherein women, decked up in indigenous attire, decorate trays with heaps of wild flowers, sing songs about nature and new life, combining it with dance.

Maha Vaishno Devi Friends Association, a youth association near Raj Reddy Marg that is setting up a pandal, said they are making sure to organise a fun programme each of the nine days.

Aabha Mirza, an organiser of Rangtaali, an event of garba and dandiya in Shamshabad, said: “After the success of the previous edition, we are excited to bring the event back with a Bombay-based music team. Hyderabad, which is having a cosmopolitan culture, is turning out a big platform in India. On all nine days, celebrities and politician will be attending the event.”

Kaushal Vakharia, a committee member of Dandiya Raas Utsav, organised at Imperial Garden, said: “Navratri is the festival of dance, lights, devotion, and celebration. People from every community, be it Gujarati, Marwari or Sindhi, take part in this festival, play garba and dandiya. We have noticed how people are excited to be part of it.”