Garba Wins...Beat By Beat

By Gajanan Khergamker

This Navratri seemed like a blast from the past. Colaba reverberated with lyrical tunes of yore as Navratri buffs twirled in their finery to the music. Dressed in the colour of the day, young girls danced in sync with their mothers, even grandmothers delighted to merge in the magic of the moment.

The magic of traditional garba transcends time and, this Navratri, cast a spell on
Colaba's residents who matched the glitter with all their finery

After years, the air was filled with a joy of nostalgia and hope for the precinct's residents who spilled over in large numbers to partake in the celebrations throughout Navratri. 

Colaba's oldest and largest Devi, this year, grew yet larger in size from its usual nine feet to a whopping 11 feet at its usual spot - near Morya Mandir at the end of Colaba Wadi. "I have been witnessing the Navratri Utsav since birth here," says septuagenarian Krushnabai Koli. 

Today, as she sits in her courtyard, she watches the swirling crowds of local revellers dancing in wild abandon to the sound of music remixed to suit local flavour.

Krushnabai Koli sits in her courtyard near Colaba's Morya Mandir reminiscing old times

Colaba's residents would vouch for the fact that the Morya Mandir Devi is the oldest and the largest but have no memory of its origin almost leaving the Devi shrouded in mystery.

In comparison, Fort's Shree Fort Juna Modi Khana Sarvajanik Navratri Utsav Mandal's All-Silver murti of the Devi stood tall, complete with memories of nearly a century, in a closed office at Fort thrown open only for Navratri.

"The Mandal was established in 1929 and, by the grace of Devi, we continue to celebrate the occasion," says a soft-spoken fifth-generation resident Avinash Gawade who oversees the Mandal's activities.

Initiated by the Borkhatia family, the festivities were restricted purely to garba. Why, there wasn't even a murti in place as is the wont. There were no funds for the fanfare either.

Avinash Gawade prays to the 'oldest' Devi of Fort area in South Mumbai

Over the years, Gawade says, with contributions from resident families, a murti was installed and with silver contributed over the years, a fully-silver murti came to be installed. This murti has stayed on for decades and is brought out only during Navratri when the Mandal is provided with a place to host the Devi and the pooja by some resident Samaritan. Once Navratri is over, the murti is kept away in safe custody in a bank locker.

From 26 September, when the Devi arrived with full fanfare, it was dhamaal all the way in Colaba: As has been the case since years. Amidst the sound of drums, casio instruments and technomusic amplified through the night, till the mandatory 10 pm that is, the celebrations continued to rock Colaba.

Poignantly, the celebrations this year were sans the techno fanfare as has been the case. It was simply delightful watching the young embrace traditional garba turns and twists to match the techno tunes of dandiya, beat by beat. 

Finally, come Dashami and Ravana Vadh, the nine-night festival came to an end; but not before sparking off hope in the hearts of thousands of Colaba residents who are now set to embrace change ...and all for the better...Come Diwali!

Click here to download the 'Devi Dhamaka - Navratri 2022 Colaba Special' e-paper

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