IACFNJ held Garba in South Brunswick on Oct 4 & 5, 2024

Indo-American Cultural Foundation of Central Jersey - IACFNJ held their Grand Navratri Garba celebration in South Brunswick on October 4 & 5, 2024, at South Brunswick High School in NJ, which was attended by more than three thousand people. The Navratri celebration marks the festival of nine nights during which Hindu devotees worship the Goddess of Shakti Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The Hindus believe Goddess Durga destroys all the evil propensities lurking the minds of her devotees, Goddess Lakshmi implants divine qualities in the devotee’s minds and Goddess Saraswati bestows true knowledge to her devotees. The tenth day, also known as Vijay Dashami, commemorates the victory of good over evil. Fun and enjoyment are the aspects of the festivals, which sets the festive mood of the Navratri, as the name suggests, means nine nights. It is one of the most religious and important Hindu festivals which is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, the deity of Power. Each day of the nine-day festival is dedicated to the worship of different forms of Goddess Durga, which unfolds the religious importance of the occasion.

The Indian community members from the surrounding towns in South and North Brunswick, Franklin Park, Somerset, Princeton, Hightstown, Princeton Junction, Monroe, East Brunswick, Robbinsville and East and West Windsor attended the event. The participants from all age groups and all generations enjoyed the traditional community garba with so much energy and variety of dance styles and costumes during the evening. The cultural diversity of Central Jersey was witnessed at the event where the attendees from various parts of Indian subcontinent living in the local area were seen on the dance floor. The special attraction of the event was three generations were seen on the floor to do the traditional garba, dandiya-Raas and Sanedo. The Goddess Amba Maa’s divine traditional Aarti and prayer was performed on both days followed by the Prasad to all attendees. The center stage was decorated with Goddess Amba Maa’s statue in a temple setting where the atmosphere will feel divine and traditional Navratri celebration like back home in India. The delicious food was provided by Honest Restaurant in North Brunswick and Ice Gola Express provided delicious Ice Gola which were enjoyed by all. The local vendors with various clothing, jewelry and traditional items selling which were added convenience and attractions to the attendees.

The local business entrepreneurs, community leaders, local public officials to include South Brunswick Councilwoman Archana Grover, North Brunswick Councilman Rajesh Mehta, South Brunswick School Board members Barry Nathanson, Dr. Smitha Raj, Deepa Karthik and Mike Mitchell attended the celebrations to support IACFNJ community efforts to keep Indian culture and heritage alive in the state. Faith Home Healthcare and Royal Basmati Rice were the grand sponsors of the event. Royal Basmati Rice – LT Foods sponsored two prizes for the Best Dress and Best Dance categories. Kaushik Vyas from LT Foods presented two prizes to the winners on Saturday. The IACFNJ dedicated and enthusiastic Executive committee, Trustees and other committee members and volunteers along with the entire committee members and volunteers worked very hard to organize this event once again to have a grand success.

For further information about the future activities of the IACFNJ, becoming a member, sponsor or supporter, please visit organization’s web site at www.IACFNJ.org. For additional inquiries, please email at info@iacfnj.org, iacfnj@yahoo.com or contact Dr. Tushar Patel at 848-391-0499.