Navratri special| Helly Shah: We would do garba till the sun came up in Ahmedabad

As the festival of Navratri commences, Helly Shah shares her memories of celebrating the festival in Gujarat and the one regret she has about this celebration

Hailing from Ahmedabad and being a Gujarati, the festival of Navratri hits different for Helly Shah. As the nine days festivities begin, the actor recalls the memories of her hometown. “Ahmedabad navratri are crazy and I have grown up watching that craze. And I enjoyed it when there were no time limits. We would be on the floor and do garba till the sun came up. Then we’d have breakfast straightaway and then go to sleep. Gujaratis are so passionate in Ahmedabad. I would travel to Surat, Vadodara and other places in Gujarat just to garba and every place had a different vibe,” she shares.

Helly Shah on Navratri celebrations

One of Helly's core memories of the festival is her mom dressing her up in traditional chaniya choli. “We would go to the famous markets and while I would still not understand fashion much at the time, my mom always used to be so enthusiastic about it. Three days back she asked me again if she should buy chaniya choli for me,” she gushes, adding, “I used to go to nani’s place and would make an idol from clay, which we call Malla Mata. We would select our theme for the decorations, and I would love the serenity of the first aarti in the evening. I still get goosebumps talking about it. You can feel the power and devotion in everyone’s eyes.”

After moving to Mumbai, the actor saw the same craze for Navratri in the city too. She says, “Gujaratis jahan jate hain, apna jaadu spread kar hi dete hain. In Mumbai, there are so many Gujaratis, and you can see their influence. When I saw the craze of garba here, it was really overwhelming and heartening. Main puri gulabi hoke nikli thi after my first garba night here.”

While she loves the festival, Helly does have one regret: “In the 28 years of my life, one thing I have not been able to do is attend a (singer) Falguni Pathak garba night. This year, I aim to do so. I was just talking to a friend, who is also a Gujarati, and he told me he is planning to go to a Falguni Pathak garba night. I told him if he doesn’t take me along, he will see the bad side of me.”