Just beat it!

Falguni Pathak gears up for dandiya nights; organisers planning free training sessions

The festive season is here with Ganpati now and Navratri less than a month away. Falguni Pathak, dubbed the Dandiya Queen, is busy locking plans for the nine-day festivities. "Earlier, we had just three-four special entries. In 2008, I arrived in a mock spaceship and once riding a dragon. This year, we’re planning special entries every day," says the singer who’s made garba and dandiya community events across the globe.

HT Image

After a 16-year association, she broke away from Sankalp (popular dandiya organisers) in 2010 to move to Ankleshwar, Gujarat. She returned to Mumbai and Sankalp last year, and this year, she’s tied up with Mangal Entertainment Pvt Ltd and 3rd Rock Multimedia for the Navratri Utsav, to be hosted at the Goregaon Sport Club from October 16 to 24.



The organisers are planning free dandiya training sessions too. "Time permitting, I’d like to attend these sessions. That’ll help revelers enjoy them even more. Most of them know the songs by heart but they like to learn new dance moves every year," Falguni says.

Is she planning to release any new songs? "It’s too early to reveal details," she says, admitting that she has yet to go through the recent Bollywood repertoire. "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’s (1999) ‘Dholi taro’ is old now. Someone told me there’s a lavni song (‘Sava dollar’) in Rani Mukerji’s film, Aiyyaa, that could be adapted to dandiya beats. Of late, though, I’ve cut down on Bollywood numbers and turned my focus to Sufi songs, Sai Baba’s aarti, Kabir’s dohas and Shankar Bhagwan’s dhuns, along with Mata ke bhajans, Gujarati folk and my old hits. During Navratri, the mood is celebratory and devotional," she adds.

Falguni favourites
‘Pari hoon main’
‘Bahuchar maa ao maragho’
‘Radhe-Radhe Govind’
‘Lajo lajo’
‘Apne piya ki bani re joganiya’
‘Yei ho Vitthale’
‘Yaad piya ki aane lagi’
Meri chunar udd udd jaye’
‘Saawariya teri yaad mein’
‘Mare ghagre’
‘Jai jai aniruddha hai Sai’