The Villager

That's because Navratri, or the nine nights, the Hindu festival of dance and songs, is technically labeled a "religious festival."

From Oct. 12 to 20, Indians worldwide celebrate Hindu goddesses that embody Shakti or power, while offering special prayers to Goddess Durga, who, according to legend, was victorious after slaying the mythological demon Mahishasur.

The festivities end with Dusera or the 10th day that celebrates the victory of good over evil. Prayers, followed by sumptuous vegetarian meals, are provided to devotees at Hindu temples in India and Toronto. The newly opened Swaminarayan temple in Etobicoke organizes folk dances during the nine days and also had a big celebration on Oct 21.

For me, Navratri has always been a time of immense joy bringing back fond memories of India, when my best friend and childhood buddy, Nimisha, tempted me to attend these events. Her father got expensive free passes for the city's best events (held mainly in the suburbs) so that we could partake in this crazy, non-stop partying binge.

Crazy, because we'd catch the night bus at 10 p.m. to reach the celebrations starting at 11 p.m., dance until 4:30 a.m., sleep at Nimisha's aunt's place, get up and go to college in downtown the same day and repeat the same pattern for the next nine days.

With such little sleep, only high-energy souls can truly last as these dances are akin to getting a super cardio workout.

Originating from the western Indian state of Gujarat, the dance has specific steps, which one needs to adapt, in synchrony, with the opposite partner as well to the tune of folk music.

The garba, for instance, is a dance where people in a circle, usually around an idol of a Hindu goddess, dance slowly at first, and really fast until the song ends. People drop out if they can't keep up the fast momentum.

But the popular one is the dandiya-raas.

Played in pairs with a set of dandiyas or colourful wooden sticks, one hits your partner's dandiyas in a distinct fashion creating a lovely click that reverberates in the air.

As one hits the dandiyas, you simultaneously jump slightly in the air, but making sure you are in tune with the orchestra's tempo, whose singers, sing at a slow pace at first, then build it up along with faster musical beats. If you don't keep up, you could end up hurting your partner's knuckles. After nine nights of playing, both Nimisha and I would be bruised quite badly on our fingers, but we never cared or bothered about it.

The nine days, for many youngsters, are an opportunity to flirt with the opposite sex, and interestingly, many a time, matchmakers and even parents come to these events to spot potential grooms or brides for their children.

In Toronto, people visit temples for prayers, but the Indian community enjoys Navratri primarily on the weekends. That doesn't stop many cultural organizations from importing top Gujarati singers from India to sing for the audience here.

But due to the weather in Toronto, the celebration is often an indoor activity so we don't see people on the streets late in the night going from one good venue to another. Also missing are the top traditional fashions on display by the girls and the open-air food stalls.

Rubbing shoulders with thousands of people who, like you, are playing until five in the morning, drinking cups of coffee to stay awake is also a sadly missed part of the fun of playing dandiyas.

In India, too, Nimisha says, times have changed, and in Mumbai, recently, celebrations now end by 11 p.m.

"Who stops playing at 11, we only began then," she lamented on the phone, so she doesn't go at all.

As for me, my husband does his best to cheer me up by taking me to many places over the nine days as he knows I miss Navratri without Nimisha.