Azhar and Bhanubhai singing with élan

Nadirbhai welcomed all and introduced Swarkinnari Group’s co-Founders Bhanu Vora, and Tripti Chhaya and five members of their troupe.” Swarkinnari Group is no stranger to Atlanta. Memories of their scintillating ‘Bapushahi Dairo’ last year at the Sardar Patel Bhavan,Gujarati Samaj are still fresh in minds of many fans. The 21 year old Group has traveled to many parts of the world. The Group has been in the US since August 12 and will be performing shows till October 5.It has a wide ranging repertoire including raas-garba, Jain Stavans, bhajans, wedding songs, Gujarati and Hindi songs, ghazals and quawwali, and hasya-ras(jokes). It has also produced three CDs of uplifting bhajans. This year, the Group includes talented singer Mazhar who is proficient in singing not only both Gujarati and Hindi songs, but especially songs of famed Mohd.Rafi. After welcoming all and thanking Nadirbhai, Bhanubhai commented,” Through our ‘Dairo’,we try to give our audience a glimpse into the rich culture of Gujarat, known for its iconic poets like Meghani,Narsi Mehta,and Kalapi,to name a few, and it’s hospitality, which can make even God forget his paradise!” We enjoy coming to Atlanta and performing here because the audience here is very warm-hearted, appreciative and receptive.We want to make the program full of fun and laughter, so please feel free to join in and also send in your requests.”
 

Left Azhar,Bhanubhai(middle) and Tripti Chhaya with musicians

Tripti Chhaya began with a beautiful recitation of ‘vigneshwaraya vardaaya surapriyaya.’and with Bhanubhai and Mazhar sang ‘ae malik tere bande hum’.’ Tripti sang an old time Gujarati favorite ‘Chhanu re chhapnu’ while Mazhar gave a foretaste of his singing talent with the vintage song ‘pankhidaane aa pinjaroo’. The audience had warmed up by now and soon erupted into spontaneous rousing sing-along as the three singers and the musicians raised the tempo. Requests for more choice songs began pouring in from the audience. ‘Dama Dam Masta Kalandar’ rocked the audience. In between songs,

Vora cracked a few rib tickling jokes. Speaking about the ubiquitous cell phones, he joked that Sita would not have been kidnapped by Ravana if she and Ram had cell phones with them! Ahmedavadis have a reputation for being stingy-that’s why they don’t buy bananas, because the peels have to be discarded! “It is good to be a vegetarian because you don’t catch Chikungunya’fever! He also gave amusing examples of spoken Gujarati in different parts of Gujarat. It was hilarious to hear Bhanubhai mimicking Gujarati housewives arguing with servants, milkman and taxi drivers in broken Gujarati and Hindi!.

After a brief interval, Nadirbhai thanked Bhanubhai Vora and Group for proving a very entertaining ‘Dairo’. He thanked the sponsors, Mustafa Ajmeri, Kamrubhai, indefatigable volunteers Sanjay Patel,Kalpesh(Patel Bros.), Darshan Shah,Upendra Bhatt,media including TV Asia,Bhavesh Shah(Mumbai Masala),Sandeep Savla and Rohit Patel(Sound system) and the audience for making it an unforgettable evening.
 

A fan joins in in singing Jesal Toral song

With unbounding zest and joy, Vora, Tripti and Mazhar regaled the audience with old gems like ‘kasumbi no rang’, ‘tari aankh no afini with Rafi’s ‘Chaudhvin ka chand ho’’, and famed Gujarati composer Avinash Vyas’s song ‘Tari vanki re paghaldinu’.Bhanubhai and Mazhar were so jazzed up,they got on their feet, clapped and waved their hands as they sang. Triptiben sang few more songs including popular ‘jeete bhi lakdi,marte bhi lakdi’ and a medley of bhajans. Mazhar sang a few more timeless songs; ‘huye hum jinke liye barbad’;suhani raat dhal chuki’ and ‘yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum’. At the insistent requests from the audience, Triptiben sang Jesal Toral song, ‘Paap taru’.Moved by the song, a member of the audience got on stage and began singing the duet with Triptiben. The musicians too performed with gusto, displaying amazing teamwork.. The audience was lapping it all up. Requests for more songs piled up.
 

Nadirbhai Jiwani thanking the ‘Swarkinnari Group’

Sadly the curtains had to come down. After four hours of exhilarating fun and journey down the memory lane, the captivating and inimitable show ended with one more request song,’Chitthi aai hai’ Bhanubhai requested all to preserve and promote Gujarati culture and language. All stood up to sing in unison patriotic songs ‘ye watan, mere watan’, and ‘mile sur mera tumhara’.A standing ovation greeted the troupe, as Vora introduced each member of the team; Deepak Bhavsar(keyboard);Sujit Vandur(tabla);Pramod More(Dholak)Bindesh Pande(Side rhythm), Mazhar(singer), and Group’s co-founder and singer Tripti Chhaya.