NavratriEvents in Amstelveen 2026
Amstelveen has a large Indian expat population working for the multinationals around Amsterdam, and the Netherlands also has a long-established Hindustani Surinamese Hindu community, so Navratri here draws two different groups to the same floor. Garba and dandiya evenings run in community centres, cultural halls and school halls across Amstelveen and nearby Amsterdam, organised by Indian associations and temples, with nine nights of aarti and bhajan alongside the dance events. Weekends carry almost everything, tickets are sold online and capacity is modest, so book early rather than turning up. Floors are socks or bare feet, and food is usually a stall with Gujarati snacks or a shared dish. October in Amstelveen is cold, damp and dark early, so bring a proper coat over your outfit. Tram and metro links from Amsterdam run late enough for most venues, and paid street parking is the alternative. Indian grocers in Amstelveen and Amsterdam-Zuid cover ingredients and sticks. The listings follow below.
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Warm up for garba
Get the beat in your feet before the first night in Amstelveen: Spotify’s Garba Nights, from dhol-heavy folk classics to the songs every circle dances to.
Before you dance
The story of Navratri
Nine nights, a goddess, two demons and one very big bonfire.
01The boon
A demon no god could kill
Mahishasura, the buffalo demon, won a boon: no man and no god could kill him. Fearless, he stormed the heavens and drove the gods from their thrones.
02The goddess
Durga rises from their light
So the gods poured their powers into one blaze, and from it rose Durga. Each gave her a weapon — Shiva his trident, Vishnu his discus — and the mountains gave her a lion.
03Nine nights
Nine nights, then victory
For nine nights she fought him as he changed shape — buffalo, lion, elephant, man — and each night of Navratri honours one of her nine forms. On the tenth, Vijayadashami, she struck him down: good over evil.
04The Ramayana
Rama prays to the goddess
Ravana carried Sita away to Lanka. In one telling, Rama worshipped Durga for her blessing before the war — then crossed the sea to bring Sita home.
05Dussehra
The ten-headed king falls
Rama's arrow brought down Ravana on the same tenth day. That is why the festival's last day is Dussehra too: one victory, told twice.
06Today
Ravana goes up in fireworks
Across north India, towering paper Ravanas are packed with crackers and lit at dusk on Dussehra — and the crowd cheers as evil burns.
And that is why we dance
Garba circles the garbo — a clay lamp, the goddess’s light at the centre of life — and the circle never stops, like time. The dandiya sticks are said to be her swords, clashing in the battle all over again.