Date: September 23, 2026
Venue: Online
For an Indian soul, all human activity when done in the right spirit becomes a means for spiritual pursuit. This is true of dance also. Is it any wonder then Shiva, the greatest of all Yogis is also the Master of the Dance, the Nataraja? A brief glance at the sculptural depictions of dancers in Konarka or Khajuraho is enough to convince one of the sublime ecstasy that Indian dance is meant to invoke for both the dancer as well as the audience.
Dance in India has a rich tradition dating back to ancient times. Excavations, inscriptions, chronicles, genealogies of kings and artists, literary sources, sculpture and painting of different periods provide extensive evidence on dance. Legends and myths from times immemorial support the view that dance has played a significant place in the religious and social life of the Indian people.
In different parts of the country, dance evolved its own distinct style taking on the culture of that particular region, each acquiring its own flavour. Consequently a number of major styles of ‘art’ dance are known to us today, like Bharatnātyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi and Sattriya. There are numerous regional variations, as well as countless dances of rural and tribal areas, which range from simple, joyous celebrations of the seasons, harvest or birth of a child to dances for the propitiation of gods or for invoking spirits.
Garba is a traditional and devotional dance from the state of Gujarat, performed during the nine-night festival of Navaratri. Its very name ‘Garba’, derived from the Sanskrit word garbha (womb), symbolises life and the circle of birth, death, and rebirth.
UNESCO has inscribed Garba on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To learn more about the deeper cultural and spiritual significance of Garba, BhāratShakti, Sri Aurobindo Society is organising an online talk on September 23, 2026.
All are welcome! Join us as we usher in the Sharad Navratri 2026!
Garba: Gujarat’s Intangible Dharmic, Cultural and Spiritual Heritage
Speaker: Dr. Nidhi Shendurnikar
Date: September 23, 2026
Time: 4:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 865 7199 5604; Passcode: 568463
About the speaker
Dr. Nidhi Shendurnikar is a passionate Garba dancer and has been ardently practicing this art form for a few decades. She is equally passionate about research and teaching of Indic perspectives. With a doctoral degree in Political Science from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, she has close to a decade of teaching and research experience in media and communication studies having supervised over sixty postgraduate dissertations.
Dr. Shendurnikar has collaborated with with various leading national and international organizations for various research projects. Most recently, she was a fellow at the Center for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS), Anaadi Foundation, Tamil Nadu working on the oral storytelling traditions of the tribals of Central-Eastern Gujarat. Currently an independent educator and researcher working freelance on consultancy, documentation and research projects, she serves as the Deputy Editor at MyIndMakers, an Indic media organization. She is also a resource person for Faculty Development Programs offered by Nucleus for Learning & Development, Vadodara.
Dr. Shendurnikar’s recent publication is a co-edited academic volumetitled – ‘Contesting Hindu Representations in Media and Popular Culture: From Cinema and Comedy to Social Media and Sacred Art’ Springer, September 2026]. She has a diploma in French from Alliance Francaise and is a student of the Centre for Spoken Sanskrit at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.