Grammy-nominated artist to perform at 40th annual Festival of Chariots in Novi

NOVI — Grammy-nominated artist Gaura Mani is scheduled to perform at the 40th annual Festival of Chariots in Novi on July 20.

The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 20 at the Novi Civic Center, 45175 W. 10 Mile Road, and nearby Fuerst Park. There is no cost to attend.

Mani is an internationally recognized American-born Kirtan singer and motivational teacher, with ties to Detroit. She was born in Chicago but spent her early childhood years living in Detroit, according to her friend and festival spokesperson  Neha Patel.  Mani  is known for her chanting songs, including “Radharani Ke Charan Pyare Pyare,” “Shri Radha Kripa Kataksh,” and “Aaj Biraj Mein Hori Re” featuring Kumari Radhe.

“She will be singing and the chanting will follow her singing,” said festival spokesman Madhu Mahadevan. “It’s like a meditation mantra, just chant and then repeat, but she definitely puts a lot of beat into it, so it’s really fun.”

Patel said that Mani, who now resides in India, performs at various Festival of Chariots events across the country, and internationally, every year. She said that Mani has come to the Detroit festival a few times over the years, most recently circa 2021. According to Patel, Mani has a special place in her heart for the city, and whenever she is in town, she will perform at the Festival of Chariots in Novi.

“She is always someone that we look forward to having at our festival, because she has a beautiful voice and it’s just she knows how to light up the whole festival and so forth,” Patel said.

“We’re very fortunate to have her come to Detroit and sing in the parade as well as sing on one of our entertainment stages,” she said. “We’re very excited to have her.”

Patel said Mani’s entire family is gifted and often performs with her. She said that some people come to the festival just to see Mani and her family perform.

Mani will be performing during the parade procession and again at 2:30 p.m. on the live music stage.

The annual festival celebrates happiness as the Hindu deities of Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra are paraded down the streets of the city in a 40-foot chariot that is pulled by worshippers and other festival attendees.

“You will definitely want to pull the rope, because when you pull the rope, you’re pulling the supreme lord,” Mahadevan said.”That’s very, very powerful to pull the rope. You’ll feel it in your whole body if you do it.”

The festival will begin at 11 a.m. with speeches by representatives from the ISKON Temple in Detroit, Mayor Justin Fischer and other dignitaries outside the Novi Civic Center.

“Novi’s always proud to have the Festival of Chariots and partner with them. It’s such a wonderful event and fits right in with our willingness and wantingness to showcase all the different cultures that we have in Novi,” Fischer said. “And the message that they spread of peace and love is one we embrace as well.”

The chariot is expected to be pulled from the Civic Center down 10 Mile Road to Taft Road and on to Fuerst Park, where a helicopter will drop rose petals over the audience and the chariot.

At the park, there will be two stages this year, as organizers had a surplus of people and groups wanting to perform. One stage will feature short plays and dances, while the other stage will offer live music. The short plays will be 10- to 15-minute dramatic plays, including one telling the history of the festival.

There will also be approximately 20 vendors offering traditional Hindu and Indian clothing, jewelry, henna tattoos, and more on hand, along with food vendors, yoga and children’s activities. The temple will also be offering a complimentary sanctified meal.

According to Mahadevan, the festival has continued to grow bigger and bigger over the years. Last year, he said, the festival hit approximately 15,000 attendees as measured by the number of complimentary food plates that were given out.

“So, we’re excited that the festival is growing,” Mahadevan said. “We feel really good that word is getting out about our festival and people like to come. We’re seeing people come over and over again.”

He said they have several smaller festivals in communities all around southeast Michigan, including Farmington and Canton, but Novi is the largest festival.

“You can definitely say this is the biggest one in Michigan, and the longest-running one as well. This is our 40th year,” said Mahadevan.

“We’re looking forward to having many people there just to share in the joy of the festival,” Patel said.

“We’re not going anywhere. It’s obviously been very well received by the people of Novi and in Detroit. It’s a very, very powerful festival,” Mahadevan said.