By Madhu Kaushik
Staff Writer
At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, January 10th in the Westford Academy cafeteria, the Garba began. Loud Indian music started to play from the speakers, samosas and jalebi were laid out on the tables, and the students started to dance.
The Garba was sponsored by HOSA, or Health Occupation Students of America, a club started by junior Amogh Kare. Kare, who is the club’s president, began the club earlier this year, hoping to recruit students willing to work in the healthcare field while giving back to the community.
Kare and his club officers had planned this event to support the growing HOSA group, which currently holds forty members and counting.
“The Garba was an idea that a few members of the club came up with for fundraising,” said Kare. “We [needed] something to fundraise; to get resources for the club members for the event that they’re going to face. HOSA has a competition like DECA, a state competition as well as a national competition. In order to prepare for the 22 events, we need resources.”
The core concept of Friday’s Garba dance had its roots in the expanding Indian community in Westford, as well as the establishment of the Bollywood Dance Club, led by seniors Karen Mathew and Aneri Soni. They started their dance group, which centers around the Bollywood style and other traditional Indian art forms like Bhangra, last year. The club also visits the middle school to teach the younger students Bollywood, which is becoming rapidly popular among dance forms.
“Garba is a folk Indian dance,” Aneri explains. “It’s done at temples or big halls. It’s a Gujarati dance, which is a region of India. Usually it’s done in concentric circles, which means there’s one center and there’s usually an idol or a picture of god there. Everyone dances around it. It’s really pretty because there’s a lot of colors going around.”
Karen adds, “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The celebratory dance, originated in west India, was effortlessly recreated at the event last week, with the help of HOSA members and eager participants clad in Gagra Cholis alike.
Hardly once did the Garba dance stop flowing. The music and enthusiasm in the dance infused the air with a certain energy, and even curious onlookers felt compelled to join.
As traditional music played in the background, a circle of students twisted skirts, whirled arms, and spun around a centerpiece in a steady rhythm. Among them were Kare, Matthew, and Soni, teaching the newcomers which foot to put in front of the other. What started as a few dancers creating a simple step progressed into dozens learning the Garba moves and clapping in time with songs like “Nagada Sang Dhol.”
In fact, several hours later when the event was drawing to a close, it was expected that the chairs laid out around the tables would be filled with dancers, sore from jumping from tile to tile – but nearly every chair was empty. The students were too busy perfecting the spin on just the right beat of the Garba music.
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