Garba In PPE Kits? Navratri Celebrations With A COVID-19 Twist Go Viral: Watch

Of all the colourful Navratri festivity videos going viral, one showing women performing the traditional Garba in PPE kits has particularly captured the fancy of the internet. In the state of Gujarat, where the nine-day dance celebration is pronounced, women took to the stage in COVID-19 protective gear to remind people that the coronavirus is still at large.

The video from Rajkot,

#WATCH | Girls in PPE kits performed Garba dance in Rajkot, Gujarat on the occasion of Navratri on Monday night

"This Garba aims to spread awareness among the public about the COVID-19," said Rakshaben Boriya, organiser of the Garba pic.twitter.com/Bqd9JZzJ7d

Netizens are divided over the symbolism of the performance, with some claiming that it is an interesting way of alerting people to COVID-19 awareness, and others questioning its ultimate significance, especially since a crowd is seen seated below the stage without distancing, as is the pandemic protocol.

Watch here:

#WATCH | Girls in PPE kits performed Garba dance in Rajkot, Gujarat on the occasion of Navratri on Monday night

"This Garba aims to spread awareness among the public about the COVID-19," said Rakshaben Boriya, organiser of the Garba pic.twitter.com/Bqd9JZzJ7d

— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2021

Garba In PPE Kits Video Gets Mixed Responses: Yay Or Nay?

Over the past year of the pandemic, PPE kits have emerged as lifesaving essentials for the medical community tending to patients round the clock. Many instant mood uplifting viral videos have starred doctors and nurses in PPE kits, taking a break from duty to shake a leg (and stress) at the hospital.

But thanks to the head-to-toe equipment's utility, it has also become the go-to cover for people to be a little - if not very - reckless, as regard COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.

For instance, several videos of couples dressed in PPE kits for their wedding - even as one of them was infected at the time - went viral last year, much to the puzzlement of viewers. Such instances were reported across the country - from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Uttarakhand.

Opinions around this trend of the protective gear as a tool of viral amusement are plenty, and not all of them are positive. In the case of the Gujarat PPE kits Garba video, some users on Twitter said it was all nothing but "drama."

"Sorry, I don't like it. People already aware about Covid for last 20 months. Hindu festivals are always about positivity not scaring away people," one user wrote. "Spreading awareness about covid by gathering the crowd? Ayoo What is happening over there in Gujarat?" another user asked on Twitter.

Image: ANI video screengrab

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