Vadodara: After widespread downpours on Sunday that led to the cancellation of Garba events across South and Central Gujarat, Monday has brought clear skies and sunshine in major parts of the state. With the sun shining over mainland Gujarat and clouds moving west toward the coastal Saurashtra and Arabian Sea, the hope of Khelaiyas has risen that Garba events, which came to a sudden halt yesterday, will resume as usual today.

On Sunday, most of the biggest Garba events, such as the United Way of Baroda (UWB) Garba, Laxmi Vilas Palace Heritage Garba, Vadodara Navratri Festival at Navlakhi Ground, and Vadodara Vibrant Navratri (VVN), were called off. A similar situation persisted in Rajkot, where the Garba celebrations of Galaxy Garba Mandal, Garud Garba, and events at Karanpara Chowk and Hanuman Madi Chowk were also cancelled after organizers performed the scheduled Aarti.

In Ahmedabad, some of the biggest events, including Mandli, Raatladi, and several other open-ground Garbas, were called off, except for Aditya Gadvi’s Rang Morla, which went on as planned.

In Surat, the Khodaldham Trust Garba was cancelled, though some major Garba events continued under covered domes. However, parking areas for popular events such as Suvarna Navratri and Kesariya Navratri were waterlogged, causing inconvenience for attendees who had to walk through muddy plots before enjoying the festivities.

Organizers of Maa Shakti Garba in Anand, which had initially called off the event, resumed it as the grounds were largely unaffected, allowing Khelaiyas to enjoy the celebrations.

Now, these troubles appear to be behind, as satellite images from the Indian Meteorological Department show mostly clear skies over mainland Gujarat, with clouds moving westward toward coastal Saurashtra. Although rainfall is still forecast across Gujarat, it has so far been limited to Junagadh and nearby coastal regions. Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Anand, and Rajkot have not witnessed significant rain until noon.

If the weather remains stable through the evening, Khelaiyas will likely be able to enjoy Garba at their favorite venues once again from today. But a major issue that might hamper this buzz is the mud on the open ground left by yesterday’s rain. If the ground is too muddy and wet and not ready for tonight’s Garba, the organizers might call off the event again. DeshGujarat