Dandiya night brings entire Apeejay School, Kharghar community together

The ground at Apeejay School, Kharghar was filled with colour and rhythm as students from Pre-Primary to Grade 12 gathered for a school-wide Dandiya celebration. The festive event brought the whole school community together in one shared dance.

Students arrived in colourful traditional attire and danced barefoot to lively tunes. With every class from the youngest learners to the senior-most students taking part, the celebration mixed age groups on the same dance floor. The school said the occasion was filled with laughter, joy and togetherness.

Dandiya is a Gujarati folk dance, usually performed in pairs and circles with decorated sticks. It has become a fixture of the festive season across Maharashtra and the rest of India. A circle dance suits a school setting well, since it needs cooperation and a shared rhythm, and anyone can step in and join.

The celebration reflected the spirit of unity, cultural heritage and community bonding. Festival events like this give students a chance to experience traditions directly, through music, movement and costume, instead of reading about them in a textbook.

They also offer something that an ordinary school day rarely does. Students, teachers and staff stood in the same circles and moved to the same beat, which gave younger and older children a chance to share a moment outside the classroom. The evening created memories that students and staff will carry with them.

The school described the occasion as ‘celebrating traditions, embracing togetherness, and dancing as one big Apeejay family.’ The line captures what many schools hope to achieve with festival celebrations: keeping cultural practices alive while building a sense of belonging among students.

For a campus that spans Pre-Primary to Grade 12, Dandiya offered an uncommon sight, with children of very different ages dancing side by side to the same music.