Andaman Settler Garba (Bengali)

Understand

Where Andaman Settler Garba (Bengali) comes from

The Andaman Settler Garba is the Garba of the Bengali-descended settler community of the Andaman Islands, performed by the women of the community at the Navaratri festival. The dance is the regional adaptation of the Gujarati Garba tradition, performed at the central courtyard of the settlement. The form is one of the documented regional traditions of the Andaman Islands and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the union territory.

How it's practiced

The Andaman Settler Garba is performed by women of the settler community in a circle at the central courtyard of the settlement or at the open ground of the Navaratri festival. The women perform in coordinated circular steps to the song of the Garba cycle and to the rhythm of the dhol and the shehnai. The dance is energetic, with the women's small twirling and the circular motion of the Garba tradition. Costume is the colourful chaniya-choli and the dupatta of the Garba tradition. Performances are at the central courtyard and at the cultural programmes of the union territory.