I simply love how Navratri brings people together: Shefali

While Shefali Jariwala loves the Navratri celebrations in Ahmedabad, she is sad that she won’t be able to visit the city this year during the festival. Shefali tells us, “I love attending garba events and while I will be travelling to a couple of cities for Navratri events, I won’t be able to visit Ahmedabad this time. I have been to Ahmedabad during Navratri on numerous occasions, and I love how people dress up beautifully and celebrate the festival so enthusiastically. I get very positive vibes whenever I am in Ahmedabad during Navratri. I hope to play garba in Ahmedabad next year. For me, Falguni Pathak is the queen of garba and Pankhida is my favourite garba song.”

She adds, “I love playing dandiya and at garba events, I ask people to come on the stage and dance with me. It’s great fun. We bring Mata Rani home and fast on all the nine days. However, in a Gujarati household, fasting means feasting too (laughs)! My mom makes amazing delicacies that we can eat while breaking our fast. For the last few years, I have been trying to teach a few garba steps to my husband (Parag Tyagi) and I must admit that he is a good learner.”

‘Navratri allows you to try out quirky things in terms of fashion’

Talking about Navratri fashion, Shefali shares, “I love the festival because it allows you to try out quirky things in terms of fashion. For me, a flared lehenga is the top priority, along with nice oxidised accessories. I also love wearing bangles and earrings that are a little different and doing up my hair in different ways.”

Elaborating on why it’s among her favourite festivals, she says, “The best thing about Navratri is that it brings people together. The entire community comes together to celebrate and there is so much love in the air. I love the smiles all around.”

‘Loved visiting garba pandals with friends as a kid’

When I was a kid, garbas were not so commercial and I loved visiting garba pandals at different housing societies with friends. We were a group of 10-15 friends, and I won several awards for being the best garba dancer. Friends from our group also won awards like ‘best dressed dancer’ and ‘best jodi’. After dancing till late in the night, we would gorge on pav bhaji before going to sleep and eagerly wait for the next day’s garba. I really miss those days.