Fire torches illuminate the darkness while 12 men dance in sync to form mesmerising designs of fire. Wearing the traditional clothes of Gujarat, the dancers create circles and symbolic formation dances by leaping over the blazing fire. This is the Mashal Raas dance performed during the Navratri festival in Jamnagar in honour of Goddess Durga. This 70-year-old tradition is a blend of devotion, courage and spectacle.
This dance form was introduced by Shree Patel Yuvak Garbi Mandal in the year 1957. It is one of the unique traditions followed during the Navratri Festival in Jamnagar and the whole of the Saurashtra region. This dance form has also spread to some parts of Mumbai. Local Garba groups have helped preserve the dance over the decades.
Mashal Raas includes 12 male dancers wearing kediyu choiyini, which is a pleated bandhni tunic and trousers. The dancers use mashaals, which are torches made using cotton cloth covered with wooden poles, soaked in oil and set on fire.
There are six dancers in the inner circle, while another six dancers are part of the outer circle. Both circles move in opposite directions, forming synchronised patterns of fire and dance. The choreography performed by the dancers is based on sathiya (Swastika) and trishul (trident) forms.
Devotional Navratri songs accompany the dance, such as Ramti aave maadi, ramti aave, aaj maat Meldi, ramti aave. As the rhythm gathers pace, the dancers intensify their movements while keeping their circular formations intact.
This climactic point is reached when someone standing on the outer side of the circle throws burning cotton balls into the performance area. These burning materials produce a fiery ring as the dancers leap across it without getting hurt. This courageous act distinguishes the performance from other Garbas and Dandiya Raas dances.
Mashal Raas is unique because of the involvement of fire in the performance. There are many other traditional dances in Jamnagar such as Talwar Raas, Gulati Raas, Maniyaro, Datarada Raas, Salagati Indhoni Raas, and Salgato Sathiyo Raas.
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