Beyond the dandiya floor, Hyd twirls to new Navratri beats in style
Daily winners receive pendant jewellery and electronic items, while the best performer on the final day will take home a bike worth Rs 80,000. Organiser Praveen Agarwal said members could attend using a privilege card costing Rs 11, with food arrangements made every day. For Sheetal Kataria, 33, a tech professional living in Madhapur who recently moved from Mumbai, the scale of the celebrations has come as a surprise.
“The family worships Maa Ambe as its Kulmata, and I see the festival as a way of carrying forward traditions passed down through generations,” Kavita said. “I thought there would not be many venues, but there is so much happening here,” she said. Organiser Pratap Jadega said participation among Telugu residents had increased this year, particularly among Gen Z revellers who turn up in traditional festive wear.
At Jalvihar, the ninth edition of Navkar Navratri Utsav, organised by the mother-daughter duo of Kavita Jain and her daughter, places as much emphasis on festive attire as on dance performances. Handmade handloom outfits are a major attraction, with prizes awarded for both attire and Garba performances. Celebrity impersonators portraying Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan are among the planned attractions. Meanwhile, the changing crowd is also evident at venues such as SNC Convention in Attapur. For many, he added, the celebrations offer an opportunity to reconnect with their roots while meeting new people and building social networks.