Navaratri is a beautiful time of the year for all of us. Whether you are spending it swirling in garba circles, or arranging Golu or playing Sindoor Khela at Durga Puja , we are immersed in divinity , joy and peace. These are also wonderful ways to come together as a community and foster feelings of love and cooperation towards all. One of the ways we at Chinmay Gurukul come together for Navaratri , is through Navaratri Mela. The date, as decided by the team is generally after Navaratri is over, typically the Saturday following it.
This year the Navaratri team decided that Navaratri Mela would be on Oct 4th . This decision is made on the basis of various factors, primary amongst them, the availability of the venue. The team scouts out various locations that can host a large gathering . It is an arduous process and starts almost a year in advance. For this year, the team decided on North Gwinnett High School as the venue. The next important decision is DJ and they need to be booked in advance , since they are in high demand during Navaratri. Towards the end of August , different teams started working on various aspects including fliers, ticketing, publicity, food , sponsors and many other small and big details . Weekly calls were arranged to iron out various details.
The teams kicked off into high gear towards the end of September as Navaratri was winding down . The challenge with a venture of this size is that we need to learn to work in a new environment where everything we need, has to be brought in either from the ashram or through various sevaks. Then there is parking . Our parking team had to make a couple of trips to decide the best and safest way to ensure people parked and were able to walk to the venue. Similarly the food team made a couple of trips to decide where the food would be served, what would need to be brought in and what the school can provide. Logistics team decided signs and safe ways to ensure people made it from one part to another . Puja Decoration team had to figure out where to setup the altar and best way to decorate it. Live Golu is another feature of our Navaratri Mela . The team checked out the best way to highlight our little Gods and Goddesses.
On Saturday, the teams started arriving at 4:00 . Every lead knew exactly what they had to do whether it was food, ticketing, Live Golu or altar and set about doing their work with their eager team of volunteers. The LIve Golu was scheduled between 6:30 -7pm . All the little kids started gathering up attired as Rama and Krishna , as Devis, as Shiva and this cute procession gathered on the bleachers adorned with different decorations. Parents were beaming happily and spectators clicking away . We had about 40 kids who participated in Live Golu .
After a parade to fun music , the kids made way for the practice session of Garba led by our enthusiastic volunteers. Shyly people started matching steps and then as the tempo built more and more people joined in. The experienced DJ slowly built up the tempo of the music and colorful twirls of color was seen everywhere. Little Kids joined in along with teenagers .Adults made their own little groups talking and laughing and dancing. Soon people joined in with dandiya sticks , the sounds of the dandiya hitting each other, a nice background beat .
As people joined in ,some people, hungry made their way to the cafeteria where the smells were inviting. Our Food team did a great job procuring the food, pricing it and making sure we never ran out of anything. People first wandered around checking out their choices starting with Samosa Chaat with its myriad toppings, Batata vada , Pav Bhaji, Biryani and Curd Rice. Of Course for the sweet inclined, there was the dessert station with 5 Varieties of icecream , refreshing Mango Lassi and Chai . A variety of soft drinks and juice were also available as was water. Our little kids were not forgotten and Cotton Candy was a delightful surprise to all .
Parents caught up with each other over food, as kids got their face painted with different designs or got Mehendi on their hands from our smiling volunteers. There were also different vendors selling beautiful ethnic clothes, ethnic jewellery and a variety of other offerings. People milled around before answering the call of the music .
In the main hall people happily joined in for line dances , followed by Aarti and prasad. All revved up from the line dances ,everyone joined in for the garba and dandiya that followed. The DJ did not miss a beat and kept the crowd on their feet and so did our enthusiastic dancers. At any given time there were 400 people on the dance floor . And there was plenty of place for everyone without feeling crowded .
Finally around 11:15 the last round of AArti was completed followed by cleanup . Every team had to do their own cleanup to ensure nothing was left behind. We were also blessed to have a very good janitorial staff, provided by the school, that took care of the cleanup throughout.
At around 12:00 under a beautiful moonlit night , the exhausted but happy sevaks bid good byes. Their work was not done. They would have to take everything home and then back to the ashram where they would need to be organized. But for now they were content at a job well done.
And how do we know it was a job well done? More than 900 people graced the occasion and everyone of them had only good words to say about the organization , the food, the dancing and the sevaks. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors . We also are grateful to all the parent and jchyk volunteers who signed up and showed up and helped put this event together. Of course it is the sevaks and leads who are the beating heart of Navaratri Mela. We salute their hard work, diligence, punctuality and professionalism.
May the Devi’s Blessings continue to light our way .
