Ahmedabad: Amid Gujarat’s grand Garba celebrations during Navratri, a narrow lane in Ahmedabad’s Shahpur area witnessed a distinctive traditional ritual on Sunday, as men from the Barot community dressed in sarees and performed the folk dance in honour of their clan deity, Sadu Mata.
The annual ritual is rooted in a nearly 200-year-old tale associated with sacrifice, remorse and atonement, according to local residents.
On the eighth night of Navratri, at least 40 men from the Barot community, along with other devotees, gather at Sadu Mata Ni Pol for the observance. Wearing colourful sarees and vermilion bindis on their foreheads, they perform Garba as a mark of devotion to Sadu Mata.
The tradition stands out amid the increasingly commercialised Navratri festivities across Gujarat, preserving a community ritual passed down through generations.
