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SURAT, INDIA, September 30, 2005: Gujarat has come up with novel ideas in the past to celebrate the nine-day-long Hindu festival of Navaratri, and this year, too, is proving to be no different. The organizers of the festival have decided to set up air-conditioned halls for the traditional dances performed during the event. Navratri (nine nights) festival, celebrated twice in a year, during the spring and autumn season, symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. In Surat, an air-conditioned dome covering an area of 30,000 square feet is under construction for the celebration, which is just around the corner. The dome will provide an estimated 20,000 square feet for dancers to perform the Garba and Dandiya dances, which form an important part of the festivities in Gujarat. In keeping with an order of the Supreme Court banning loud speakers the dome has been made sound proof. “We have made the provision for the AC dome. This will be constructed in keeping with the orders of the Supreme Court, which has banned playing of loud speakers. The dome will be sound proof. This will enable the dancers to dance for a longer time,” said Nitin Talati, organiser of Navratri at the AC dome. The dome has a capacity for 7,000 dancers and 5,000 seats. Dandiya is a traditional dance of the Gujarati community performed with sticks. Group of young men, dressed in traditional attire, with women wearing long skirts, dance to folk tunes with rhythmic beating of sticks between them. The folk dance is performed after worshipping the Hindu goddess Durga who is, the mother of all gods, on all nine days of the festival. Besides the air-conditioned dome, the festival will also be celebrated at a fully air-conditioned indoor stadium which has a seating capacity of 7,000

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