Dress Kids For Garba!

Kids

oi-Amrisha

By Amrisha Sharma

Friday, September 30, 2011, 11:53

Garba, a traditional dance of Gujarat, is performed for 9 days during Navratri. The word 'Garba' comes from the Sanskrit word 'Garbha' which means womb. The dace is performed in a circle which symbolises time. They keep different avatars of Goddess Durga in middle or light a lamp. Dancers wear colourful Garba dresses for the dance. Girls wear chaniya choli (three piece dress) and boys wear kediyu (short kurta) and kafni pyjama.

Lets check out the ways to dress kids for Garba.

Girls: The three piece chaniya choli is decorated with shells, beads, small mirrors and sitaras on the hand stitched embroidery or zardosi work. The chaniya choli consists of chaniya (flared long skirt), choli (blouse) and dupatta. Garba chaniya choli is heavily studded with mirrors and the chaniya has a 9 meter width flare to add twirls. Garba dresses for girl kids can have backless or bandni choli. It is small and easy to carry. Accessorise the chaniya choli with light accessories. Small light jhumkas, necklace, loosely tied bajubandh and kamarbandh are great to adjust the Garba dress on a girl. Kids can't carry so much accessories with the Garba dress so keep it minimum. Adjust a kamarbandh to set the dupatta and prevent it from coming out. Set the dupatta on the head or else make a pony tail. Cover the hands with matching bangles. Use 6-10 bangles depending on the interest of the kid. Chudlas are difficult to carry for small girls but if they want to wear then try using colourful chudlas. Just use payal and juti or mojdee to make the kid comfortable in the Garba dress while dancing.

Boys: The traditional Gujarati Garba dress for men is kafni pyjamas and kediyu. Kediyu is a short kurta above knee level. It has tight sleeves with embroidery on the borders. The kafni pyjama and kediyu are teamed up with a multi coloured pagadi on the head and a dupatta on shoulders. Kada and mojiris complete the Garba dress for boys.

Kids can dress up for Garba in this way and celebrate the Navratri festival!