In Her Own Words

Bhavnagar
A Graceful Confluence of Ancient and Modern Cultures

Garba is an inseparable part of Gujarat. It is garba that has made Gujarat known and loved across India and around the world. Many artists and craftspeople have given their talents to preserve our cultural heritage and to bring the heritage of garba alive for today's generation and the one now growing up. Bhavnagar is a city of art and culture.

Bethak garba (seated garba): In earlier times, during Navratri, the men would gather at night at the village square and fill it with lively garba and garbi (a related devotional song and circle dance), and would stage bhavai, Gujarat's traditional folk theatre, and its short costumed plays. In those days the men also played the women's parts in women's dress, taking the finest episodes from our sacred epics and Puranas, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and presenting them as bhavai. Back then it was not the custom for women to go out of the house and sing garba in public. The women gathered at home instead, worshipped Mataji, the Mother Goddess, and sang hymns of praise and garbas in sweet, melodious voices for their own delight. It was the women of the Nagar, Nagar Brahmin and Brahmin communities who began this tradition of bethak garba. In Bhavnagar, seventy years ago, three Nagar families started bethak garba: Durlabh Lakshmiba in the grand Mangal Mahal in Diwanpara, Rama Lakshmiba opposite the Bahucharaji temple, and Har Bala Ba in Nagar Pol. The daughters-in-law and daughters of each family, and their relatives, were invited. In the same way, bethak garba was held at the home of Madhurikaben at Ram Jharukha, opposite the rubber factory, and after her time her son, Shri Pinakinbhai Mehta, kept it going. Pinakinbhai Mehta also started the singing of Sai bhajans, devotional songs to Sai Baba. Bethak garba was sung, too, at the home of Yogendrabhai and Upendrabhai Sarabhai Shukla in Bhagatalav, and at the home of Dinkarbhai Shukla, who lived at Astarni Ambli. Near the Mahadev temple in Haluriya Chowk a canopy was put up, and every night of Navratri bhavai was performed there after midnight. In Atabhai Chowk and in the square by the Barton Library, as soon as one scene of the bhavai ended, the bhungal, the long brass horn of bhavai, would sound; the clown pair, Ranglo and Rangli, would cry "ta thaiya thaiya"; and the sutradhar, the narrator, would swiftly introduce the next story.

Bethak garba remains very popular in the Nagar community today, and in every town and city of Gujarat and Saurashtra there are lively evenings of bethak garba. In Mumbai, too, in a great many suburbs, Nagar women and (continues on p. 188)

(continued from p. 187) Nagar associations organise grand bethak garba evenings, and year after year they bring something new to them.

Sheri garba (street garba): Gradually, alongside bethak garba, street garba began. Garba became popular in village squares, in the streets and in the pols, the close-knit lanes of the old town. Above all, it was danced to folk songs handed down from generation to generation, and little by little women of every community began to come and join the circle. First the garbo, the perforated clay pot that gives the dance its name, is installed; a lamp is lit inside it and it is worshipped. The garbo is a symbol of the universe. It has 27 holes, three rows of nine, standing for the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Indian astronomy. Each nakshatra has four quarters, so 27 × 4 = 108. Dancing 108 rounds around the garbo during Navratri earns the merit of circling the entire universe. This is the special significance of dancing garba. In Bhavnagar, street garba was begun in Vajirwali Sheri by Kunjlataben Mehta, Pragnaben Oza, Yogeshwariben Desai and Bhuvaneshwariben Desai, with the support of Chandraprabhaben Vora, Sudhaben Desai, Harshvinaben Mehta, Rasheshwariben Desai and others. Within a short time the street garba grew so popular that it moved from Vajirwali Sheri to the walled courtyard of the Mahajan. Street garba then spread across Bhavnagar, to Nagar Pol, Bhagatalav, Kanbivad, Karchaliya Para, Crescent Circle, Ghogha Circle and elsewhere. In Karchaliya Para, working women still gather at night all year round, not only at Navratri, to sing garba for their own joy. Stage garba and competition garba: little by little, garba moved from the street onto the stage and into the housing societies. In Bhavnagar, garba on stage began at the Sanskar Mandal, the Salt Research Institute and the Theosophical Lodge, where garbas by several different groups would be presented in a single programme. In Bhavnagar, in Shri Chamanbhai Mehta's house on Diwanpara Road, Kalaguru Shri Jagdipbhai Virani, "Motabhai" (respected elder brother) to all, founded "Saptakala", an institution for nurturing many different arts. With the support of Shri Williambhai Virani, Jay Shrikantbhai Virani, Nainibhai, Kalaguru Shri Mohammadbhai Dekhaiya, Shri Ushakantbhai Mehta and Shri Bhargavbhai Pandya, Saptakala flourished as never before. It taught dance, sugam sangeet (light music), instruments such as tabla, harmonium, violin, mandolin and sitar, and painting, among other arts. This institution has given Bhavnagar many artists, among them Sohiniben Virani, Trushaben Oza, Yaminiben Oza, Shobhanaben Oza, Varnaben Desai, Kamalbhai Virani, Tarunbhai Mehta, Truptiben Desai, Poyaniben Oza, Sadhanaben Desai and Bhartiben Pandya.

In stage garba in Bhavnagar in the sixties, the garbas of Shrimati Pragnaben Oza and Shrimati Kunjlataben Mehta made a very important contribution. Under the banner of Nupur Zankar, the institution this pair founded, a full programme of twelve garbas was presented in a single sitting, the first of its kind in Bhavnagar, and it was enormously popular. In the prachin (traditional) and arvachin (modern) (continues on p. 189)

(continued from p. 188) garba competitions held in Gandhinagar by the Gujarat State Nritya Natya Academy (the state academy of dance and drama), Nupur Zankar won many prizes and made its name across the state. Shobhanaben Oza, Sohiniben Virani, Bhartiben Pandya, Poyaniben Oza and others played a very important part in this institution's garba choreography. In Bhavnagar the Ghogha Circle Mitra Mandal also won great renown for prachin raas (the circle dance with sticks) and garba, with Shri Jayrajsinh Sarvaiya, Sonalben Shah, Ashaben Shah, Muraliben Meghani, Jitubhai Bhatt, Josnaben Upadhyay and other artists at its core. In the seventies and eighties the groups Kala Sangam, Venunad, Amateur Group and Neptune were founded in Bhavnagar, and they made an important contribution to prachin raas, garba and garbi in the city. In arvachin garba, meanwhile, Shrimati Poyaniben Oza has created an identity all her own. Known for her innovation, she has become celebrated in Bhavnagar as "the pioneer of arvachin garba", and semi-classical, dance-based choreography is at the heart of her garbas. Shrimati Poyani Oza founded the troupe Khushboo Kala Vrind. From 1980 to 1988 she served as a judge in state-level and district-level competitions of the Gujarat Nritya Natya Academy. Shri Chandra Oza, editor of the arts page, Kalajagat, of Saurashtra Samachar, which is published from Bhavnagar, and Shri Rameshbhai Oza gave Bhavnagar's artists great encouragement. Their feel for the arts deserved every praise.

With the support of Shri Rajababu, Shri Sureshbhai Buch, Dr Nilubhai Vaishnav, Advocate Shri Akshay Oza and other leading citizens, and of Bhavnagar's well-known artists, they founded an institution named Aalap. For the inauguration of Aalap, Shrimati Poyaniben Oza presented Parvani, a three-and-a-half-hour programme based on our festivals, which won enormous popularity. Here is what the newspapers wrote about it. Saurashtra Samachar, 20 March 1978: Shrimati Poyani Oza worked tirelessly on the direction, garba choreography and organisation of Parvani. About 75 women took part in the programme, and the classically based music composed by the well-known composer Shri Mohammadbhai Dekhaiya made the Parvani celebration all the more joyous and colourful, and set hearts swaying. The District Collector, Shri Rambhadran, presided, and the celebrated Gujarati film actor Shri Upendra Trivedi attended as guest of honour; both encouraged the performers. The well-known folk artist Shri Praful Dave also came specially for the occasion. Speaking from the stage, he said: "Seeing such a fine garba programme by Poyaniben makes me sad that I don't know how to dance." Among Parvani's singers were the radio artists Shri Pinakinbhai Mehta and Kumari Rekha Bhatt, together with Shrimati Harshidaben Buch, Shrimati Saryuben Nanavati, Kumari Dipti Bhatt and Shrimati Yaminiben Oza. The accompaniment came from an orchestra of Shri Amarshibhai Mehta, Balwantbhai Parmar and Sureshbhai Vaghela, with, on bansuri (bamboo flute), (continues on p. 190)

(continued from p. 189) Tarunbhai Mehta, on violin Shri Hariharbhai Kapdi, and on mandolin Kamalbhai Virani. Gujarat Samachar, 2 April 1978, "Rangam", by Shashikant Nanavati: On 14 March 1978, to mark the inauguration of the Aalap institution in Bhavnagar, the programme Parvani was presented. It was full of raas (the circle dance with sticks), garba and dance, all based on the stories behind the festivals, holy days and vrats (vows and fasts of religious observance) that run through the year and are woven into our lives like a string of stars. The tireless work Shrimati Poyani Oza put into Parvani's garba choreography, direction and organisation shone through. Shrimati Poyani Oza, who started it, is the daughter of Shrimati Pragnaben Oza. Under the banner of her troupe, Khushboo Kala Vrind, she staged programmes in Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and other cities, and they were hugely popular. Let us see what Gujarat's newspapers have to say about these programmes.

Gujarat Samachar, 19 October 1981: "A brilliant achievement for Shrimati Poyaniben Oza". Presented on 9 October 1981 on the stage of the Theosophical Lodge in Bhavnagar, this programme was a delight in every respect and a hit. Never before in Bhavnagar had a programme of folk dance and garba kept an audience of four to five thousand in their seats from beginning to end. After creating Parvani, Shrimati Poyani Oza, with this production, Jhanjharno Jhankar ("The Jingle of Anklets"), not only takes her place in the ranks of accomplished artists of arvachin (modern) garba, such as Shrimati Veena Mehta and Shrimati Shubhaben Swadia of Mumbai and Shrimati Sudhaben Divetia, Shrimati Jayshreeben Anilbhai, Smita Shastri, Shrimati Chitra Shah, Meera Menon and others of Ahmedabad, but also wins Bhavnagar a place of pride on the map of Gujarat's garba.

Rangprabha, 25 December 1981: Bhavnagar's Khushboo Kala Vrind, which holds a leading place in the arts in Saurashtra and Gujarat, has for the past two years been steadily watering the soil of our cultural heritage with a meeting of three streams: folk music, folk dance and group dance. Its works bring novelty and originality together with a graceful blend of ancient and modern cultures. The guiding spirit of this troupe is Shrimati Poyani Oza. Under her direction, vision and guidance, Khushboo Kala Vrind has made great strides in a short time. Shrimati Poyani Oza has presented her garba compositions on Doordarshan in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and her garbas won much praise at an All India Radio (Akashvani) concert in Rajkot. Saurashtra Samachar, 29 October 2007, "25 years ago": the year's best programmes from an artistic point of view. Parvani. Production: Aalap. Direction: Shrimati Poyani Oza. Choreography, arvachin: Shrimati Poyani Oza. Choreography, prachin: Jitubhai Bhatt. Music direction: Shri Mohammadbhai Dekhaiya. Prachin garba draws on poems, folk songs and garbas by poets from the devotional poet Dayaram through to Narmad. It uses the one-clap, two-clap and three-clap patterns, and the clap-and-snap. Props used in it included the sambelu (wooden pestle), the valonu (butter churn), (continues on p. 191)

(continued from p. 190) the supdu (winnowing basket), the tippani (a pole with a weighted block, used to beat down earthen floors), the garbo, divda (clay lamps), the mandvi (a small decorated wooden shrine) and others. Prachin garba was danced moving round in a circle and bending from the waist. The works of the modern poets who came after Narmad form the core of arvachin garba. Arvachin garba uses a variety of props too: the mandvi, the bedu (brass water pot), manjira (small hand cymbals), the divi (a small lamp), the aarti lamp and others. In competition garba, costumes must suit the style, prachin or arvachin. The garbo should be sung from within the circle, and its refrain taken up from within the circle too. In the cosmopolitan cities the form of garba is becoming somewhat distorted, and its essential spirit is not being preserved. Disco garba, disco dandiya and dancing garba to film songs have become the fashion. This trend is slowly spreading from the big cities to small towns and even villages, which is a matter of real concern. There is an urgent need to preserve our cultural heritage and to awaken the young generation to it. Living up to the saying "Wherever a Gujarati lives, there Gujarat lives forever", Shrimati Poyani Oza also won great affection in Hong Kong in the nineties with her artistry. From 1989 to 1998 her garba choreography took Hong Kong by storm, at the Gujarati Samaj, the Indian Arts Circle, the Hindu Association and other institutions; and from 2015 to 2017 she served as a judge in garba competitions in Sydney, Australia.

Shrimati Poyani Oza,
Qualifications: B.A., B.Ed. Creator of arvachin garba and folk dance productions,
Pioneer of arvachin garba in Bhavnagar, Founder of Khushboo Kala Vrind