Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Characteristics of celebrating its festivals with pomp and circumstances, the Indian Cultural Association, recently gathered Indians living in Abuja, friends of India and members of the diplomatic community to mark its annual Navrati festival.
The Navrati festival, which usually spans nine days, is an annual event observed and celebrated separately in various parts of India in honour of the goddess Durga who battled and emerged victorious over the buffalo demon in order to restore Dharma.
The event held at the premises of the Indian High Commission, Abuja, was a gathering of high profile dignitaries including the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, His Excellency, Abhay Thakur and his spouse, Dr (Mrs) Surabhi Thakur.
Apart from cultural display and conferment of awards to deserving members of the cultural association, the event also witnessed the traditional, ceremonial lighting of lights at the beginning of Indian events.
Speaking with Daily Sun, Thakur described the event as a very traditional and old Indian festival usually held for nine days, disclosing that ‘Nav’ means nine, while ‘rati’ means nights.
According to the envoy, the event was about the nine-day tradition of the triumph of good over evil, adding that each of the days has its own peculiar celebration since the event is centred on the goddess Durga and her many folks.
“It is celebrated in many parts of India and everyday has its own significance. What is very important is that there are many forms of depicting the battle between good and evil, including in dances, in cultural manifestations,” he said.
Thakur further made reference to one of the particular dances performed during the ceremony titled ‘Dandiya’ in which ladies dance with two sticks in their hands and the movements alternated between one dance and the other, dancing in pairs.
“Dandiya dance is supposed to be the dance of good over evil and also reflect our internal battle,” he said, explaining further that; “in India, there are three types of elements: Tamsik, Rajsik and Satvik. While Tamsik signifies something evil, Rajsik stood for oil and Satvik represents sage-like, the strongest character and highest form of existence.”
The envoy also added that; “Over these nine days, three days are dedicated to Tamsik, three to Rajsik and the final three is the victory of good over evil dedicated to Satvik.”
On the cultural cooperation between India and Nigeria, Thakur said the cooperation was excellent as both countries witnessed recently, cultural exchange when a cultural troupe from one of the provinces of India, Chhattisgarh, came to the High Commission to perform folk dances similar in some ways to Nigeria’s folk dances.
The envoy further disclosed that in November, another cultural troupe from India will be visiting Nigeria on the invitation of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), expressing hope that there will be more and more cultural exchange between both countries.
Thakur also explained that exchange between Nigeria and India were not limited to the field of culture, recalling the number of Nigerian students in India in search of educational success, including the visit of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja to New Delhi on the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
According to Thakur, “I think things are happening consistently and we are happy to constantly exchange cultural impressions. Just recently, we released postal stamp for Mahatma Gandhi and I think the whole wide spectrum of cultural cooperation between India and Nigeria is tapped, addressed and intensified as we go along.”
For the President of the Indian Cultural Association, Panneer Selva Elvis, the Indian family in Nigeria came together to celebrate the festival in collaboration with the Indian High Commission, Abuja, explaining: “Our Indian family is celebrating today. You are a witness, so it is a beautiful moment for this light.”
“Nigeria can learn culture sharing from India. There is a specific message about the culture of the people just like different states in India coming together to celebrate its culture under the auspices of the India Cultural Association,” he added.