Fire bubble 'Garba' mesmerises Navratri revellers in Gujarat's Jamnagar

Energetic young men dance barefooted on tiny cotton fire balls spread inside a raging ring of bigger fire bubbles. As the 'Garba dancers' move in a circular pattern to the beat of dhol and rhythmic hand claps, the little cotton fire balls scatter away around their feet and disappear in the darkness of the night. However, helpers are seen throwing more fire balls into the ring to ensure that the show continues. The Patel Yuvak Garbi Mandal held this fire bubble Garba at Jamnagar. Their Mashaal Garba with fire torches treated revelers to a visual feast. Come Navratri, towns and villages across Gujarat come alive with such traditional 'Garba' and 'Dandiya Raas' traditional folk dances. The special feature of the Garba fire bubble 'raas' is its abundant use of tiny balls of cotton, dipped in kerosene and lighted up. Garba means womb, which, together with the light of fire balls, symbolise the magic of life.