Come Navratri and the first thing that comes to your mind is garba & for a Mumbaikar to top that you are reminded of Falguni Pathak & her Sankalp Navratri. Its one place where I have seen even non dancers dance, she literally forces you to do so. Though it was not for the first time that I had gone to Sankalp & played garba on the beats of Falguni but this time it was special. Going with office colleagues…oops friends was an experience in itself. The entry to this venue was much easier then I had expected it to be. Once you are in & the moment the beats start your feat start moving to her tunes instantly. Crowds well dressed, ornaments & yes kediyu & chaniya choli, famously called short frocks by the masses is what you get to see around you. Beats were rolling, Falguni was at her usual best & there she comes up with the song “Pari Hoon Main” her trademark song…this is I would suggest as the perfect example of crowd following its influencer. Not a single group in the ground was doing a different step, the song prompted everyone to dance what is called “popat” a to & fro garba step. Once this song started we got it that Falguni is now at the peak of her singing. Songs kept flowing… “Mane Pant Walla Ne Payanvu tu, Dhotiya Walo Gamto Nathi” (I wanted to marry a jeans wearing guy, the dhoti wearing guy I don’t like) to “Odhni Odhu to”…Gujju Garba kept coming… It was more fun as most of my friends did not how to play garba but still they were best at managing. Just as we had all got in the flow of dancing perfect, here comes the song “Namak Ishq Ka” & instantly we all got dancing to the jhtaka steps without any one’s instructions. Words can’t describe it… The last twenty minutes & the gujarati garbas were replaced by hindi film songs…from “paisa fekh tamasha dekh” to “dil ka mamla hai dilbar” she simply delivered what we had been there for. Finally here comes the final song of hers, which I felt even a rock band cannot match up to. Among the several present there along with my ten office friends who were not gujaratis, were forced to be Gujaratis by heart for the entire time at Sankalp dancing to Falguni Pathak. Exploring a place where the form of dancing comes naturally to me but with dear friends was an experience of a life time. As we left the place with cherished memories we promise to be here in future also together, though it was a blurred promise to make as no one knew where each one will be, but still…
