After Durga puja, as we often see, the dance is performed by the devotees.

After Durga puja, as we often see, the dance is performed by the devotees. The dance puja is nothing else than the celebration of devotees in rejoicing the victory of Goddess Durga over the demons. Hence there are several forms of dance that are performed during Navratri and one of the most popular dance forms is Dandiya Raas. It is performed in honor of Goddess Durga and signifies the victory of good over evil. Dancers with colorful and tastefully decorated sticks in their hands dance to the rhythm of music. According to legend the dance with sticks is known to represent a mock fight between Goddess Durga and the demon king Mahishasura. The sticks are supposed to a symbolic representation of sword held in the hands of the Goddess. Due to this it is also known as the sword dance. The Garba (dance) that is performed is associated with the Sanskrit word “Garbha” meaning ‘womb”. The word also means light inside the earthen pot. The light represents life and the pot is the womb that carries this light.The dance is considered a symbolic representation of God in the feminine form. The songs that accompany the music are sung in praise of Goddess Amba. This dance form has been associated with the raas leela of Lord Krishna and it was popularized by him. The granddaughter of Lord Krishna, Usha was instrumental in popularizing the Lasya Nritya. This ancient dance form later came to be known as Garba dance which is performed to seek blessings of goddess.