This infectious dance form brings thousands together every fall in Windsor-Essex

WND061025_GARBA

As a kid growing up in Sri Lanka, Dilin Siriwardana had only seen Garba on screen — crowds of dancers moving in rhythm, clapping to the beat in bright traditional clothing.

This weekend in LaSalle, he finally got to be part of it.

“This was on my bucket list,” said Siriwardana, attending his first Garba event Saturday night.

“I’d seen it in movies — the colours, the coordination — and I always thought, one day, I want to experience that.”

Siriwardana was one of more than 3,000 people who attended the Gujarati Samaj of Windsor’s annual Garba Navratri celebration — a four-night event across two weekends that’s become one of the region’s biggest cultural gatherings.

Inside the Event Centre at LaSalle Landing, long rows of dancers circled the floor — clapping, spinning, and stepping in rhythm to the pounding dhol drum. Anyone is welcome to attend.

The pace quickened as the night went on, but the movements and the steps stayed perfectly in sync.

“This is one of the festivals we celebrate every year in India,” said Rohit Patel, president of the Gujarati Samaj of Windsor.

Garba is a folk dance from the Indian state of Gujarat, performed during a nine-night festival known as Navratri.

It celebrates energy, renewal, and community, with dancers forming circles around a small lamp that represents light and life.

Each clap and step carries meaning, symbolizing unity and the cycle of time.

Twisha Parikh, 21, has been attending Garba events since she was a child.

“All of the family friends that we’ve known here for so many years,” said Parikh, when asked what keeps her coming back every year.

“It’s a lot more fun when you know everybody that you’re doing Garba with.”

According to the Gujarati Samaj of Windsor’s website, the first Garba in the city was held in the basement of a local home in 1973 — a small gathering that marked the beginning of one of Windsor’s longest-running cultural traditions.

Gujarati Samaj of Windsor board member Dhaval Petrolwala said this year’s crowd was the largest they’ve ever seen.

“Something that started more than 50 years ago in someone’s basement is now taking place in such a big venue like this,” he said.

“You see kids as young as three and people in their 90s dancing under one roof.”

Petrolwala added the nine-night celebration is also marked by fasting — though it doesn’t stop people from dancing for hours.

Behind the scenes, Patel said 14 committee members spend months organizing the event.

“They work day and night to bring the community together,” he said.

Former Samaj president Aarti Parikh, the first woman to lead the group said Garba means a lot to people who’ve made Windsor-Essex their home.

“It’s so important,” she said.

“For seniors especially, it’s a very good get-together. They really open up and enjoy themselves here.”

The dance, she added, starts slow before building in pace and energy.

“We start the Garba night with what’s called ‘Tran Tali’ which means three claps ... As the music gets faster, the moves change and people keep dancing,” she said, adding Garba is infectious to watch.

“Even just standing here watching all of the people, you feel like joining in.”

Garba nights are held all over the world, bringing together millions of people through the same rhythm and circular patterns.