A cycling community will celebrate Navaratri in Mira Bhayandar with early morning rides, matching jerseys, and light-hearted garba sessions
Cyclists perform garba on the first day in Mira Bhayandar. Pics/Satej Shinde
While garba enthusiasts across the city will find it a challenge to wake up after their long nights at Durga Puja pandals, community Mira Bhayandar Cycling Association (MBCA) will awaken before sunrise, ride out in matching jerseys and bicycles, and welcome each day of Navaratri with an energetic garba session.
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Day one commenced at 5.30 am yesterday where twenty cyclists sporting yellow jerseys gathered at Golden Nest Circle in Mira Bhayandar. “It [yellow] was the colour of the day. We started cycling before sunrise and rode all the way to JP Road. At 6.30 am, we formed a circle on the side of the road with our cycles in the centre, turned on the Bluetooth speakers, and started performing garba,” shares (below) Irfan Shaikh, founder, MBCA.
The cyclists will begin the ride at 5.30 am every day, and explore heritage sites en route before reaching a destination to perform garba
Playing garba at the break of dawn might sound odd to most people, but the cyclists have a reason. Community member and bicycle mayor, Amar Nadgeri believes that cycling in Mira Bhayandar in the early hours helps one view the neighbourhood’s underrated sites better. “We are blessed with a beautiful coastline featuring Uttan, Velankanni and Gorai. As morning people, it made sense for us to celebrate the festival in the early hours of the day, when the air is fresh and there is less traffic on the roads,” he explains. To this end Shaikh, a full-time auditor, adds, “Most of us are working professionals, and begin our day by 8.30 am. Meeting up early ensures that we don’t have to rush our gatherings. We can enjoy a peaceful ride, and play garba without having to worry about starting work late.”
The community was born in 2020 after Shaikh felt the need for a cycling group in Mira Bhayandar. “Almost all other parts of the city had cycling groups. As someone whose preferred mode of transport is cycling due the economic and environmental benefits, I decided to start a community here,” he shares.
The cyclists will wear apparel according to the different colours of the day for Navaratri. On Dussehra, they will sport traditional outfits
The idea to merge festivals and cycling was a natural choice. “Both festivals and sports bring together people and communities. We first began with Diwali rides in 2020. We would get cyclists to come together during the festival and share farsan that they would bring from their homes,” Shaikh adds. The idea to perform garba for Navaratri was more spontaneous, he adds. “In 2022, we had simply planned to wear the same colour on the ride. Our community administrator, Vaishali Pawar, was carrying a portable speaker. She started playing songs, and we decided to stop and dance to celebrate right there. The videos of our dance went viral in Mira Bhayandar, with many people requesting us to host more such events. Last year, we went on rides across Mira Bhayandar on all nine days for the first time. This year, we are ending each Navaratri ride with a garba session,” he reveals.
Irfan Shaikh
While the turnout on weekdays is less, the count shoots up on weekends. “On the Dussehra weekend [October 12 and October 13], when we also have our mega event, we expect more than 50 people to join in on each day,” he reveals. On these days, cyclists ditch their jerseys, to turn up in their best traditional attires. The ride will include stops at heritage locations of Mira Bhayandar, a visit to a pandal in Kanakia Park and much longer garba sessions followed by a Gujarati feast featuring jalebi and fafda.
Amar Nadgeri
“On weekends, our stops include Manori Church, Dongri Dargah, Ghodbunder Fort, and Dharavi Devi mandir. Anyone can join us even if they don’t wish to cycle. They can accompany us on a two wheeler, on foot, or meet us directly at the garba destination,” he reveals.
Till: October 13
Meeting time: 5.30 am
Meeting point: Golden Nest Circle, Qamar Park, Bhayandar East, Mira Bhayandar.
Message: 7400321772 (for itinerary and theme)
Log on to: @mirabhayandercyclists (for event updates)
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