The Entwined Fates

Chapter 22: Garba Night

It was the month of October. Navratri festival was going on. It was one of my favourite times as I loved dancing. Especially Garba and Dandiya. Navratri (meaning 9 days in Sanskrit) is a major Hindu festival held in honour of the divine feminine. It often ends with the Dussehra celebration on the 10th day. We worship Goddesses for their strength i.e. Shakti. Even though we celebrated differently from region to region, our hearts had the same divine feeling while worshipping the Goddess.

Even though Garba originated from Gujarat, here in Mumbai, it was celebrated on a massive scale. Various grounds organised 'Dandiya and Garba Night'. They provided an out of the world Garba experience. The decorations, people, music and costumes made the experience surreal. I had been to different Garba places, but this year we were going to Kora Kendra Ground. I was very excited. 

Today was the 9th day, meaning the last day of Navratri. My friends and I had planned to celebrate it with a bang. We went all out in planning this event. Ved had arranged ‘Dandiya Raas’ passes for the six of us. Yes, I said six. Dhruva was back to his normal self. We had a few issues in the beginning after what he disclosed, but now we were getting closer. The last time we met was during Ganesh Chaturthi when we went for darshan at Dhruva’s place.

Zia was the one responsible for buying our traditional Garba attire. And boy, did she buy them. Currently, I was getting dressed in a chaniya choli, making sure everything was in place. Next was jewellery. I had an oxidised jewellery set, so I decided to wear that. There was no way I was carrying a purse. I got a call from the guys saying that they were nearby. After a quick touch up, I was ready for a fun night.

“Hello, boys! Looking dashing!” I greeted them when they arrived.

“Wow, Arya! Looking gorgeous!” Ved exclaimed.

“Doesn’t she always?” teased Priyank.

Blush made its way on my cheeks. I replied with a quick thanks and made my way to the car. The other three had already arrived at the place by the time we reached.

“Hello, my beauties. Looking fab as always.” I complimented them as I saw them. “Dhruva, you look handsome.”

“So do you, honey. Ekdum amazing.” Replied Aaru as she hugged me.

“After all, I chose the outfit.” Boasted Zia teasingly.

After the compliments session was over, we made our way inside. But before I could, Dhruva held me back.

As I turned to him, he said, “You look beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I am gonna have to keep an eye on you tonight. Stay close, yea?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, obviously. As I don’t want anyone to steal you away from me.”

I was speechless. Even though Dhruva had mentioned in his letters that he still had feelings for me, we never spoke of it again. Him vocalising it, made it more real. But now was not the time for pondering on these thoughts. It was supposed to be a fun night. A night to forget about everything else and dance our hearts out.

So I just smiled at him and tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the entrance. Our passes were checked, and we made it inside. The first thing I observed was the crowd. The ground was packed with people. It was going to be a tough time finding a good spot for dancing. I just knew it. Zia, Aaru and I shared looks.

“Let’s go look for a spot,” ordered Zia. And with that, the quest to find the perfect dancing spot started. We could hear the song “Chalo Pela Bamboo Beats Na” playing and people dancing on it. We were excited as we heard that the Dandiya Queen Falguni Pathak would be performing a few songs. It was nearly impossible to get passes, but now I wondered how Ved got them.

Luckily we found a good spot and decided to join the group. Soon, more recent songs started playing- Chogada, Kamariya, Nagada sang dhol, Dholida and many more. All I could say was, people were fantastic. I could see the months they spent preparing for Garba. They danced so gracefully as though professionals. We were no way close to it, but definitely good.

As Falguni Pathak made her entrance, everyone went crazy. They started screaming and yelling. I am sure we were the ones who did that too. The atmosphere was definitely more charged up than before. She sang the classic songs, and we danced the night away. Let me tell you, the feeling was dreamlike. After Garba, it was time for Dandiya. I paired up with Dhruva. Though we were not that great at it, we still managed.

By the time we were done, we were exhausted. We could barely make our way to the car and drive home.

Wow, what an experience!

The crowd killed it.

The ambience was astounding.

We had a great time.

I am pretty sure Dhruva being there made it more magical.

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Author's Note:
Hello guys!
I decided to add something fun after a series of emotional chapters.
What do you think?
Stay tuned for more.
Thanks for reading!
- Mitali