IACFNJ to hold annual Navratri Garba in Monroe & South Brunswick

Indo-American Cultural Foundation of Central Jersey - IACFNJ will hold their Grand Navratri Garba celebration in Monroe and South Brunswick on October 13-14 and 27-28, 2023, from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Monroe Township High School, 200 Schoolhouse Road, Monroe, NJ 08831 and Crossroads South Middle School, 195 Major Road, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852. The Navratri celebration marks the festival of nine nights during when Hindu devotees worship Goddess of Shakti Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The Hindus believe Goddess Durga destroys all the evil propensities lurking the minds of her devotees, Goddess Lakshmi implants divine qualities in the devotee’s minds and Goddess Saraswati bestows true knowledge to her devotees. The tenth day also known as Vijay Dashami, commemorates the victory of good over evil. Fun and enjoyment are the aspects of the festivals, which sets the festive mood of the Navratri, as the name suggests, means nine nights. It is one of the most religious and important Hindu festivals which dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, the deity of Power. Each day of the nine-day festival is dedicated to the worship of different forms of Goddess Durga, which unfolds the religious importance of the occasion.

IACFNJ will hold this year’s Garba at two different locations and towns due to popular demand in South Brunswick and surrounding areas where culturally diverse neighborhood with highly populated Indian Americans in North Brunswick, Franklin Park, Somerset, Princeton, Hightstown, Princeton Junction, Monroe, East Brunswick, Robbinsville and East and West Windsor. More than 6000 people are expected to attend for these four days event to celebrate Hindu’s religious and cultural festival. For the past more than 16 years, IACFNJ Garba has been one of the biggest, non-commercial and family oriented, safest, well-organized and one of the high-class garba event in the state. The participants from all age groups from all generations will shake the floor with so much energy and variety of dance styles and costumes during the garba.

The cultural diversity of Central Jersey will be witnessed at the event where the attendees from various parts of Indian subcontinent living in tri-state and other residents living in this part of the country from South Asian countries will be seen on a dance floor. The special attraction of the event will be participation from high school kids of various ethnic and cultural back grounds which is rarely seen at any other Garba events in the country. The Goddess Amba Maa’s divine traditional Aarti and prayer will be performed on all days followed by the Prasad to all attendees. The center stage will be decorated with Goddess Amba Maa’s statue in a temple setting where the atmosphere will feel divine and traditional Navratri celebration like back home in India. The cafeteria will have food stalls of various mouth-watering and traditional Indian food as well as local vendors with various clothing, jewelry and traditional items selling which will be added convenience and attractions to the attendees.

The local business entrepreneurs, community leaders, local and state public officials and large number of Asian Indians will attend the celebration to support IACFNJ community efforts to keep Indian culture and heritage alive in the state. The IACFNJ dedicated and enthusiastic Executive committee, Trustees and other committee members and volunteers along with the entire committee members and volunteers are working very hard to organize this event once again to have a grand success. For further information about the IACFNJ Garba 2023, sponsorships, tables and tickets, please visit organization’s web site at www.IACFNJ.org or email at info@iacfnj.org, iacfnj@yahoo.com or contact Dr. Tushar Patel at 848-391-0499. The Garba tickets are available on www.Vibrnz/events.