A platform that gave the performers their dream stage and the audience, a melodious evening.

When I first got a call from one of the GBBF volunteers asking me if I was interested in participating in this event, I instantly said yes and sent them my voice recordings. After a few days, they called us and said that we were selected for the audition round and that’s where the journey began.

Picture this – 13 nervous people sitting in front of Nitin Sir and Devansh Sir, hoping that we don’t mess up any swar or miss a single beat…. Yes, those were the exact thoughts going through my mind while sitting in that room on that rainy Sunday morning. Luckily for us, both Nitin ji and Devansh Sir were kind enough to give all of us a chance and told us that they would help us in ensuring that the songs we would be singing are up to the mark.

‘Gaane ko achitarah se kaisenibhayajaasaktahai’ was my main takeaway from all the practise sessions that followed in the coming weeks. Throughout all the sessions, Nitin Sir and Devansh Sir gave us meaningful insights on the way we sang and what all we could do to improve it. Each step of the way, Sir was there with us, guiding us on how to and how not to sing – two very important aspects that many fail to recognise. Nitin Sir used to take out time especially for us and sit with us one-on-one and teach us the nuances and intricacies of the song which would make it sound beautiful.

After a few practise sessions, as we neared the day of the performance, we started rehearsing with the musicians. Those three rehearsals were very memorable for all of us as we spent hours and hours together, bonding over good music and most importantly – good food! Everyone used to get home cooked food and all of us enjoyed relishing those delicious delicacies.

When the – day finally arrived, all of us were prepared as well as excited to sing our hearts out. Sound check, getting ready, sharing last moment tips, enjoying each other’s company, being on our feet and getting last minute jitters was something that all of us experienced.

Commencing the evening by singing a beautiful rendition dedicated to Lord Ganesh with Tatsavi leading us with her melodious voice was an enthralling experience.

One by one, as everyone started going on the stage and performing, the rest of us would be peeking from backstage and just being there for each other.

On a personal level, one of the most defining moments for me was when I walked on to the stage and was clearly nervous but after seeing the overwhelming response and applause that the audience was continuously showering, I poured my heart out in my singing.

At the end of the entire event, I felt like I found myself a new family of like minded people whose company I had thoroughly enjoyed during the entire course of preparation. Together we brought the best out of each other and that was quite visible in our performances, both – individual and duet.

The entire concept of giving a stage and an identity to individuals to display their talent, passion and god gift was something that was novel to our community until PaanjoTaano happened.

I would like to sincerely thank and appreciate everyone who was responsible for making this event happen and taking pains to ensure it was successful. A heartfelt thank you to Nitin Sir and

Devansh Sir for curating the show and for being there for us throughout its course. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for us in the near future!

• MaitriDutia

I would love to take this opportunity to thank the Global Bhatia Benevolent Foundation for giving me a platform to showcase myhome baked products. I personally believe in providing the finestquality products and the best service possible to all my clientsat the best rates possible. What was once a hobby of mine: tomake delicious chocolates and chocolate-based delicacies formy family and friends, has now turned into a great businessidea. However, as I am extremely health conscious, I havenow shifted focus towards a range of sugarless granola cereal,with innovative flavour combinations, freshly baked andpreservative-free.

The GBBF exhibition was an opportunity for me to return tobaking after a long sabbatical. While I was unsure of how mynew product innovations would be received, I was pleasantlysurprise by theoverwhelming response at the stall with themembers of this fine community wanting to try my granolaand chocolates and at the end of the day I was not only soldout but I went back with a diary full of orders from my newpatrons and supporters. The exhibition had a great footfall andthe visitors as well as the participants were all people withgreat taste and vibrant range of products on offer, respectively.

This show of solidarity from the community and the initiativetaken by the organisers is, no doubt, going to go a long way intobuilding a stronger bond within our people and open new doorsfor all of us who want to expand our markets.

Thank you GBBF for the great opportunity and support.

Meghana Doshi – Owner, Maggie & The ChocolateFactory

Paanjo Taano 2019 was an event where I got an opportunityto curate a musical show alongside

Mr.Nitin Sampat. Wediscovered so many hidden talents from our communitywhich we never knew existed. Children right from age of 7to music lovers who were over 70 years old. Hobbyist singerstomusicians and some who had innovated their ownways of expressing music. We handpicked some of them,trained them and got them ready to showcase their talent onstage. I think it was a platform where they could discover anartistic side of themselves that is often lost in the process ofrising through the things that life throws at everyone. I wasbackstage the whole time. I›ve seen all of the performers go

through some overwhelming emotions before, during and aftertheir performances, almost like theytransformed their regularbeings into something better for that performance. It did movemyself andNitin Bhai in some ways for sure. Most of the timesthese moments are lived, enjoyed and kept aside being taggedas “hobbies” but these are the same moments that make youfeel like you›re living to the fullest. Myself as somebody whohas converted my hobby and passion for Music into a full-time profession, I’m a witness to that. Not just music, anything thatyou’re passionate about has some extra ordinary power in it.And if you can use it to yourself make a living, you’re a star.Also, I did something historic that evening (yes I get braggingrights to that). I came up with world’s first Kutchhi Rap song

and performed it for everyone at Paanjo Taano. It’s called”Ki AiyonKedoHaal”. It a rap song about Bhatias, ourcharacteristics, habits, history and some more fun elementsin it. I never expected it, but it started making rounds onpeople’s family WhatsApp groups and got a crazy response onSoundCloud.com where I’ve uploaded it.I so look forward to more such events cropping out of ourcommunity where we break the stereotype that we›ve formed byand for ourselves because I believe there’s just so much more toit.

Devansh Bhatia aka DAWGeek