Festival
9 iconic garba songs that will make you move and groove every Navratri
Well-known Gujarati singer Ishani Dave picks her favourite garba songs to dance and to perform for Navratri, and throughout the year.
Garba is a form of traditional dance practiced primarily in Gujarati but also all around India.
It is a hallmark of the festival of Navratri, celebrated over nine days in honour of the goddess. And garba is symbolically a connection of devotees to the goddess through song and dance.
Garba is performed by dancers in a circle, keeping in time with the music that forms a very important part of the art form. Every year, several Gujarati musicians put out new garba songs or their own renditions on traditional songs for devotees to dance to. And live performances at garba dances are also staple to the culture.
Ishani Dave is one of the most popular singers, coming from a family of musicians, who records garba songs and performs at garba festivities.
Her father is a playback singer and her is mother a folk singer, meaning that Ishani got a start in music very early in life.
“I was about 10-11 years old when I did my first performance at Royal Albert Hall in London. I’m the third generation of musicians in my family, from both sides. Both my parents are singers. So it was very much expected from me, to get into this from a young age,” says Ishani.
Ishani Dave
© Jigar Dholakiya
Although garba is mostly celebrated during the Navratri festival, Ishani feels Gujaratis love garba so much that they do it everywhere and on any occasion. She’s even been requested to perform garba songs at Gujarati weddings.
“Navratri plays a major role in my life and my journey as a singer. There’s a difference between performing for 300-400 people and performing for a massive congregation of 15,000 people [during Navratri]. It is like being in a trance for me. Watching everyone dancing and synchronising to the beat in unison is really delightful while singing on stage during Navratri,” says Ishani.
When asked to describe Navratri in one sentence, she says: “It is the Gujarati version of Tomorrowland!”
Her earliest memories of Navratri were seeing her father perform on stage. For her, the music and the dance go together. “You cannot have one without the other. They always accompany each other. It is no fun singing when there’s no one dancing to it. And once the music starts to play, you can’t resist dancing to it,” she says.
So here are Ishani’s favourite Garba songs to dance to and perform.
01
‘Kesariyo Rang’
“It is one of my favourite garba songs. It is a traditional folk song and has been around for more than 100 years. No particular artist is credited for this song, but there have been numerous versions of it over the years performed by different artists. I love the tune of the song; it’s like ‘Aradhana’. It is like a worship of the divine. It makes you feel like giving your 100% to the goddess. It totally has the melody to put you in a trance,” says Ishani.
02
‘Patai Raja’
“This is another old traditional song that has lived over the ages. I feel like this is one of the songs that reflects a hint of the Islamic influences in our culture. It has that essence in the composition and the melody. That’s something I love about this song,” says Ishani.
03
‘Mune Ekli Meline Tu Rame’
“The version of this song I love is composed by Avinash Vyas. What I particularly love about it is the composition, and even lyrically, it is very different from the other garbos. I really liked that someone called Lord Krishna “Rangeela Raja”. The word ‘rangeela’ here means ‘casanova’. It’s not something that’s been done before. I mean, no one has been so direct in their interpretation of Lord Krishna before this. That’s what I love about it,” says Ishani.
04
‘Gori Radha’
“This is a song that has become famous in recent times. It’s composed by Sachin-Jigar, the music composer duo. It was sung by Divya Kumar. I love the tune and the composition of this song. It was released about four-five years ago. I get a lot of requests for this song; in fact we perform it in every show,” says Ishani.
05
‘Moti Veraana’
“It is a song by Amit Trivedi. He’s one of my favourite music composers. I love the tune; it is very catchy. This song feels to me like it brings a balance between the old flavour and the new vibes,” says Ishani.
06
‘Radha ne Shyam 2.0’
“This song was released last year. It was composed by Sachin-Jigar, and sung by Sachin Sanghvi. I just love the melody. All my favorite songs – just like this song – I love them because of the melody, and how it makes me feel,” says Ishani.
Here are some of Ishani’s favourite songs that she has personally recorded.
07
‘Maar To Mele’
08
‘Garbadiyo’
09
‘Suraj Dheema Ugo’
“This song proved to be quite a hit for me. I definitely sing it wherever I’m performing. I don’t have any particular story behind these songs of mine; if I love a song, I just go ahead and record it,” she adds.