Gujarat: African Sidi members settled in Bharuch perform dhamal dance

The group was led by Imran Sidi and the team members were Wasim Sidi, Altaf Sidi, Babu sidi, Humanyu Sidi, Nazir Sidi and Danish Sidi. Members of the community are believed to have been settled in Bharuch from Zanzibar in Africa over a hundred years ago.

At present, there are 25 families of the community, comprising around 200 people in the village. Most of them are into farming, while a few of them sell flowers and incense sticks outside Bawagor tomb.

Talking to The Indian Express, Imran Sidi said, “We are proud to be only dance troupe to have been selected from the state. When Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, we have performed at his various events. He liked our performance and once appreciated me. We also performed when Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Gujarat a few years ago… We are thankful to the state government for inviting us to perform for US President Donald Trump.”