Pune: With no major events scheduled across the city for this year's Navratri festival, the glare of the season this year is lost for many. However, many are taking a virtual way to organise Garba, online darshan and other events in line with the annual tradition.

The organisers of the famous Pune Lokmanya Festival in the city this year are broadcasting many performances such as dance, Instagram reels on online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram. Aditya Satpute, the organiser of Pune Lokmanya Festival said, "Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have cancelled all the performances. However, to keep the festive spirit alive, we have decided to broadcast various programmes such as bhajans, dance competitions online."

Several housing societies and social groups are conducting rituals, aarti and prayers for the Goddess via limited invitees and in obedience with social-distancing rules.

With the outbreak killing the festive spirit and all the festivals going virtual, Navratri too, is turning into a digital event. Not only limited to online darshan, the famous dandiya and Garba nights are now taking the digital route.

Garba artistes said that this will be for the first time that they will perform online. Roshan Bagde, a Garba trainer said, "For nine days Garba will be played on different social media platforms. The charm of playing Garba at the venue is different but many artists this year are adjusting to a new normal."

"Unlike last year, I have been taking lessons using Zoom and Google Meet. This is the first time in my career that I have resorted to a virtual route," says Parag Vala, who has been teaching Garba at Rhythm Dance Academy in Mumbai, for the past 18 years.

"In normal circumstances, I would teach more than 100 students in various batches, however, we have close to 50 students now. While it was initially a struggle to teach, Parag has figured out an easier way for his students to learn online. "It was frustrating in the beginning, and it was difficult to explain right-left to children. But we began asking them to wear a band in the right hand to understand better," he added.