AHMEDABAD: Dread those sleepy mornings after nights of revelry, the aching muscles and yet pining for more fun? Take a Navratri vacation.

As the state gears up for world’s longest dance fest, this is one solution many are talking about – a nine-day vacation in schools and colleges to enjoy Navratris to the full. If there could be a vacation for Diwali, why not a Navratri holiday?

That’s the refrain. And, the BJP government did experiment with the idea in 1996. The then education minister Nalin Bhatt cut short the Diwali holidays to declare a Navratri vacation.

“Hardly anyone is in the mood to work or study during this period. Absenteeism is about 25 per cent in the first couple of days and reaches almost 50 per cent towards the end of the festival. With both teachers and students staying away, studies get hampered. And, Navratri is a Hindu festival after all,” says Rakesh Pandya, general secretary of Ahmedabad Principals’ Association.

Says Aroma Patel, president of the Ahmedabad City School Management Association: “A Navratri vacation is necessary. Maybe a short vacation at the end of the festival could also help.” For students, a vacation during Navratri would only add to the fun and revelry. “A vacation would help me manage both studies and enjoying the festival. I am in class X and cannot afford to miss studies; neither can I miss the garbas, the dresses, the revelry,” says Chinmay Jani.

“It’s the grandest festival of Gujarat. If we can have Christmas holidays, why not have vacations during Navratris?” says Bhatt. “It is so difficult keeping eyes open in the class after keeping awake till late in the night. Besides, many girls observe fasts during the period and they need to rest,” says Sachi Trivedi, a class IX student.