It is the time of the year when ethnic-wear vendors at Ahmedabad’s Law Garden street market usually do roaring business selling choli-ghaghra and dupattas in anticipation of rocking dandiya nights. This year, however, the market wears a deserted look as Gujarat is unlikely to gyrate to the folksy tunes of garba , the dance form synonymous with Navaratri celebrations in the State.

Dandiya events, where crowds of over 30,000 dance together, generate huge business for people in the State. But this year with celebrations likely to be muted, an estimated ₹25,000-crore worth of businesses may be lost.

 

“There is a wide business ecosystem around the Navaratri festival, which involves multiple sectors like clothing, jewellery, restaurants and food joints, sound and audio industry, artistes, logistics providers and decorators, among others. All combined, it is a business of ₹20,000-25,000 crore during these nine days,” explains Himanshu Shah, organiser of Soi Garba in Ahmedabad. This year it will be a complete loss, he rues.

Govt promise

Even after Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel tried to cheer up citizens with the promise that the State government will work out maximum possible relaxations within Covid-19 guidelines, the mood remains gloomy as no commercial garba organiser is ready to hold the mass revelry. The Navaratri festivities start from October 17. But there is no vibrancy visible in the State.

Rajdeep Desai, a resident of Vadodara, a city that has hit global fame for its garba events, voices his disappointment. “Since my childhood, I've never missed garba during Navaratri . We'll still try to hold some gatherings at our society.”

While the State appears willing, and some people too, it is a challenge for the organisers to host the events as sponsors are not forthcoming. Typically, it costs an organiser ₹1-1.5 crore to put up a garba event for nine nights. Multiple sponsors are roped in to fund the event with a single sponsorship usually amounting up to ₹25 lakh.

Vadodara-based NGO and garba organiser United Way of Baroda has called off garba events citing risks to people's lives.

Hemant Shah, Chairperson of Resource Development Committee of United Way of Baroda, said: “Having such a large number of people dancing at a single location, it is impossible to follow social-distancing norms or ensure use of masks. Also, there is the risk of these revellers carrying back home the virus and infecting the elderly.”

Doctors’warning

Last week, the Ahmedabad Medical Association, a medical practitioners’ body, had represented to the Chief Minister requesting him to prohibit large gatherings during Navaratri , highlighting the catastrophic consequences of Covid-19.

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