Ahmedabad: The festive season has set in with Navratri and Dussehra, hence India is in celebratory mode.
Images of colourful Durga Puja celebrations, videos of Garba and dandiya are all over social media platforms as well as conventional media.
One particular video, which has gone viral, has brought to light a unique ritual from Gujarat which is performed by men on the eighth night of Navratri.
Every year, on this day, men from the Barot community wear sarees and perform Garba dance at Sadu Mata Ni Pol, in Ahmedabad, to honour an ancient legend.
The men in sarees are seen clapping and gently swaying to the calming music.
Watch the viral video:
Men perform Garba in sarees. pic.twitter.com/OrOv2S36hN
— Nalini Unagar (@NalinisKitchen) October 2, 2025
The ritual traces back to 200 years when a woman named Saduben, also called Saduba or Sadu Mata, sought help from the men of her community when a Mughal nobleman demanded her as a concubine. The men did not act, and she lost her child.
The angry woman cursed the men for failing to protect her, declaring that their descendants would live under a shadow of cowardice, and then committed sati.
The reel, posted on Instagram and shared on other platforms like X, floored a section of social media users who took to the comments section to express their admiration for the gesture of the men.
Some netizens were impressed by the ingenuity of the ritual, and expressed how cultural traditions can evolve while remaining deeply rooted in devotion.
