Dandiya with a message
A fun yet thoughtful event brought out the responsible side in city's dandiya dancers.
Come Navratri, the young and the old bond over the season’s festive fervour, forgetting anything else in the bargain. The week-long festival brings out the best in everyone — they look great and feel good! But above all, what binds people from different communities together during this time, apart from their love for food, is dandiya. And adding a whole new dimension to the traditional folk dance, S.S. Convention held a unique competition this year.
“Every year, we conduct different competitions like the best-dressed man and woman in traditional attire to engage the crowd. But this year, we thought of going all out and doing something fun that brings out the best in you as a person,” says Zeny Momaya, the organiser of the event.
She adds, “Here we have asked people to come in small groups and bring out a social message through dandiya.”
Bina Mehta, a judge for the event, says, “This year, judging this competition makes me feel responsible about society in a way. Bringing out social issues through dandiya is a unique concept and I truly was amazed at the creativity of the participants.”
The eight groups, indeed, came up with some innovative performances for the competition.
Respect Women
In recent times, with all the untowardly incidents victimising women, the group came together to show how important it is to respect women and not treat them like a commodity. The group members held placards with messages and their dance moves successfully communicated their views.
Alcohol Kills
Comprising six young girls dressed in jeans and tops with a traditional pagri, the group came up with this idea as they believed that the young generation suffers at the hands of alcohol. The props that were used were very well-thought of — like empty bottles, smoking pipes and a skeleton. They demonstrated how a person falls to his death after incessant drinking while other living beings merrily carried him to the pyre while with alcohol in their hands.
Save wild life
Young kids dressed in white and green head gears, holding placards in their hands, did justice to the cause. Being the youngest participants in the competition did not deter this group to go all out on stage.
Female Infanticide
It’s difficult to believe that even today, India continues to face monstrosities such as female infanticide. According to statistics, the numbers are disheartening, which is why the group got together to raise awareness.
Stop Blue Whale
Dressed in white and blue, the group tried to educate the audience about the perils of the deadly game and urged people, especially youngsters, to stay away from it.
Mystic Mavericks
Dressed in rags, this group of youngsters brought forward the issue of poverty and how people should respect the underprivileged as well. Through their dandiya moves, the group talked about how a goddess can reside in everyone even if one is poor.
Love our parents
An entire family, from grandparents to grandchildren, came together to show how important it is to love one’s parents. As years pass by, children tend to move away from parents either for work or studies but the love and support a family gives can’t match up to anything else. Their dance showed the emotions families go through — love, separation and then reconciliation.
Rally for rivers
Rivers are dying a slow death and to address this issue, a group of young girls dressed in blue came forward to educate the audience about the severity of the issue.