Borivali to host four prominent garba events this Navratra season

MUMBAI: As the Navratra season gets under way on October 10, four of the largest garba events will converge in

Borivali

.

Falguni Pathak

, Preeti-Pinky, Musa Paik and Nilesh Thakkar will all vie for a share of the spoils.


Each organiser puts up a brave front saying he has his loyal audience. Yet, it is a matter of debate as to how many celebrants from the eastern suburbs like Mulund-Ghatkopar will travel to the western suburbs given congested traffic and the 10pm deadline.

Falguni's organiser Santosh Singh has put together a Rs 5 crore mega event. He said, "For us there is no competition. This is the silver jubilee year of Falguni's performance at Navratra, and we have devised a blitzkrieg of innovations, social media campaigns and contests. The 13 acre ground has a dance area spanning 2 lakh sq ft, parking for 1,000 cars, a 20,000 sq ft food court, adequate clean toilets, medical care and security. The other organisers are my friends too, but my planning and execution makes me confident of my success."

Ganesh Naidu of Kora Kendra has the advantage of hosting the oldest garba in Borivali. "My garba at this venue is 15 years old. Falguni performed in Borivali last year too but our footfalls remained constant. Our singers Nilesh Thakkar, Nirupama Rele and Jayesh Desai are so versatile that large crowds buy season's passes to dance here rather than attend just for a day or two," he said.

Chetan Gaur, one of the organisers for Preeti-Pinky, said, "Like all the Khans have their place in Hindi cinema, there is ample scope for all garba singers. Each venue sees upwards of 8,000-9,000 footfalls each day. Yet, hardly any organiser earns profit from garba anymore given that expenses have mounted." Gaur says an average venue has a budget of Rs 2 crore.

Over the years, several well known organisers have left the scene including Devendra Joshi of Sankalp, who organised Falguni Pathak's dandia for 18 years. Ramesh Morabiya and Jignesh Khilani of Ghatkopar opted out as did Nayan Bheda. Khilani will host Falguni for a one-day event.

"Yet, a few old-timers like Ganesh Naidu, the BJP's Manoj Kotak of

Mulund

, Jitu Mehta and Jignesh Bhuta of Preeti-Pinky remain in the reckoning," he said.

Certain flash in the pan organisers have also descended upon the scene, most of them builders and event managers, who operate for one season to boost an upcoming construction project or event, but do not return to garba the following year.