Grooving in Godrej Baug

Riveting performances by 91 participants from Godrej Baug held the audience’s attention as they glided and strutted to the latest Bollywood and western pop music at Vibrations 2013. The biennial event on November 16, 2013 included nine dance items with the older mothers and even grandmothers performing on Radha on the dance floor, the younger parents on Badtameez dil, the teenagers on 1,2,3,4, get on the dance floor, the 10-12-year-olds on Balam pichkari, the seven to nine age group on Lungi dance, the four to six-year-olds on Dilliwali girlfriend and the entire group coming together for the finale Dhating naach.

Performances at Godrej Baug’s Vibrations 13

Eco Park at Godrej Baug is abuzz with activity every evening in the days leading to Diwali and creates its "ultimate dhamaka in the form of Vibrations,” declared Godrej Baug Residents Welfare Association (GBRWA) president Farhad Hozdar in his message in the souvenir brought out on the occasion. The dual objectives of Vibrations is to encourage the participants and offer them a platform to showcase their talent as also to raise funds for their multifarious activities. With practice sessions continuing late into the night, bonding over a contributory dinner of masoor pav or sali per eedu made the dancing even more delectable. The inhouse choreographers Merzi Anklesaria, Mahafreenn Sarkari and Benafsha Soonawalla succeeded in making the groups dance to their tunes.
The Vibes team comprising Nilufer Nasirabadwala, Kaizad Mistry, Nazneen Dastur, Havovi Pastakia and Shahrukh Bilimoria strove "to carry the torch forward, making it bigger and better than before.” Thus not only were there laser beams casting their own spell on stage, there was innovative use of back props to lend a special charm for the fashion shows that had the older age group displaying leather and denim, the teenagers reflecting punk rock and the younger ones imitating the style and moves of their favorite stars.
"I wish I was 17 instead of 70,” said Bombay Parsi Punchayet chairman Dinshaw Mehta on being felicitated by GBRWA. Using teen lingo, Mehta appreciated, "You were mind blowing. The youngsters have proved that the community is not dying.”
Chief guest Dr Arko Mukherjee, music director of the film Jism 2 was equally appreciative of the enthusiasm on and off stage and commented, "I have not got so much love anywhere except in Calcutta, my home town.” Though wary of singing without orchestral music, he sportingly rendered two numbers while strumming the guitar. Earlier it was GBRWA’s Johaan Daruwalla’s melodious voice that had captivated the audience.
Amongst the items, the credit for the most convincing act should go the committee members of GBRWA who walked up on stage with a policeman in tow to indicate that the show must be brought to a close as it was causing a disturbance in the neighborhood. Even Maharashtra state legislator from the Malabar Hill constituency Mangal Prabhat Lodha who had graced the function for a brief time went up on stage thinking he would be able to assuage the situation! When the hoax was called off, the committee members gamely danced to Bawa style, an adaptation to the music of the popular Gangnam style.
Subsequent to the event, Vibrations chairman and GBRWA honorary joint secretary Neville Velati issued a communique commending the commitment of his core team, the committee members and the participants. He further pointed out, "It hurts us when we see that the age group of 20-25+ years remain absent from participating in Vibrations and other shows. Also… contributions in terms of donations and advertisements in the souvenir remain a grey area… If we receive even one advertisement per family and even if 50 percent of the residents support us… we can make it big… in 2015 (when) Vibrations will be in its 10th season.”