1,200 people danced away the Dandiya Night hosted by Brahmin Society of New York

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1,200 people danced to the tune of garba songs by Foram Shah and her group at the Brahmin Society of New York’s Dandiya Night to celebrate Navratri on Friday, October 4, 2024 at Hicksville Middle School in Long Island, from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

Trustee and former President Ruta Dave told Desi Talk that the event was an amazing success drawing so many people. Brahmin Society of New York is a registered non-profit organization and has been serving Long Island as well as Tristate area since 1987, and has been organizing regular events and activities to keep in touch with Indian culture.

“The school gym had the capacity of 1,241 and we had already sold 1,000 tickets before the event, with close to 1,000 more in the wait list,” Dave said. The event attracted people of all ages, from two-year olds to ninety-year olds. Dandiyas were available to purchase at a highly subsidized price at the event.

The event began with the lighting of lamp and an aarati of the mother goddess. Special prasaad of mixed-nuts packages sponsored by Patel Brothers was distributed to all.

A special inaugural garba was performed by 51 young girls who all received appreciation gifts of traditional ethnic Indian bags.

Then followed dandiya raas on the tunes of Shah and her group in the hall packed with traditionally dressed people of all ages.

Dave said the crowds have been attracted by the singing of Foram Shah. “She delivers well and that draws the people,” Dave said. She said they had been holding Navratri celebrations with Shah for the past three years.

Shah’s group consisting of three singers, five musicians and one sound system manager, sang nonstop till the end. Most of the songs were garba songs, including traditional folk, film and other songs, with some Bhangra songs for about ten minutes at the end.

At the end of the event, prizes for the Best Dressed person and the Best Dancer in the categories of children under the age of 18 and adults were given. The event concluded with remarks by President Bharti Joshi and a vote of thanks by trustee Ruta Dave.

Highlight of the event were the vendor stalls including food, clothing, jewelry, financial planning, physical therapy, Henna, and special snacks from Dharampur, which Dave informed, are special dry snacks made by women in an organization which provides employment and empowers women. The vendors were independent vendors from New York who have always been given an opportunity at the Brahmin Society events, Dave informed.

The food stall offered savory street food by Rasoighar of Darshana Rawal. Some people enjoyed food before the dancing began as many had come straight from work. Some took breaks during dancing to eat. The clothes stall featured women’s ethnic clothes including sarees and churidar sets. Fashion jewelry at the Jewelry stall attracted quite a lot of people.

The Dandiya Night was sponsored and supported by Nehal Trivedi Esq. and Patel Brothers stores. Long time members Drs. Himanshu & Dipali Pandya, the Raos and the Mukhis sponsored gifts and prizes.

The event was managed through planning to execution by the Navratri committee consisting of President Bharti Joshi, Trustee Ruta Dave, Vice President Kalpita Parikh, Dharini Trivedi, Poonam Shah, Tejal Raval, Clara Oza, Rajesh Pandya, Janak Dave and Joy Oza. The Navratri committee was supported by the Youth Committee members Manav Trivedi, Shiv Purohit, Darshil Jhaveri, Aanya Trivedi & Angel Shah. Executive committee member providing voluntary support included Labhubhai Upadhyay, Navin Jani, Asha Dharawat, Rekha Trivedi, Harsha Jani and many more.

Brahmin Society organizes many events through the year including celebrations of religious festivals, annual talent show, picnic in the park, and entertainment events. A major initiative undertaken by Ruta Dave during her presidency was to create, support and make independent the Youth Committee. “This year, we are taking the Youth Committee one step further by making it independent. They now work independently, organize their own events and make their own decisions,” Dave said. The Youth Committee now shares important information with each other including about schools and colleges.

The Brahmin Society event was supported by a number of organizations. Dave clarified that that support meant the organizations would not hold their events on the same day. There are close to 25 non-profit Gujarati organizations in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and  Connecticut and the race for recognition by each has been tight. “Thirty years ago, we had only the Gujarati Samaj and Brahmin Society,” Dave said.