Pics: Sameeha Studio
Media Release

Abu Dhabi, Feb 13: The dynamic Emirates Paradela Foundation hosted a massive musical treat for the music lovers of UAE at the Indian Social and Cultural Centre in the capital, Abu Dhabi on Friday February 12. Emirates Paradela, known for hosting unique shows of great class to help support its numerous social causes since 21 years, once again hosted a show that saw grand success.

It was an enthralling musical evening with a spectacular lineup of outstanding artistes led by the renowned Gopi Kamath of Dubai, a lead singer/musician and anchor of the show.

After a brief introduction by Cedric Menezes, entertainment secretary of Paradela Foundation, the evening took off with prayer led by Marina D'Souza. Vivek Serrao, the master of ceremony efficiently rolled out the evening.

President of Emirates Paradela Foundation, the multi-talented Benette D'Mello welcomed the gathering and thanked the sponsors for their strong and steadfast support to the Association's charitable causes of providing educational scholarships and medical assistance to the economically weaker section of society. Sponsors present were Leo Rodrigues, Ronald Pinto, Richard Castelino, Sudhir Shetty, Norbert D'Souza, Urban Sequiera, Abdul Rahim and Walter Almeida. The sponsors were honoured with mementos and flowers.

President of ISC Ramesh Panikar and Lancelot Pinto, corporator of Bejai, Mangaluru were also honoured. The media personnel were honoured on stage by vice-president Vincent D'Mello. The artistes were honoured by Cedric Menezes, who later proposed the vote of thanks.

The audience was lucky to catch the rare opportunity to listen live to the plethora of musical talent of great repute on stage. The galaxy of singing stars also included Tejaswini Shahane of Indian Idol fame, Sudhakshina Mukherjee of Antakshari and Channel V's Popstar fame and retro voice of the gulf and Nirupama Dey, finalist at Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Challenge, all local talents from Dubai. Singer Chirag Panchal, winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Music was flown in from Mumbai and so were the talented musicians Sumit, and Sashikanth on percussions and Sanjay Marate, the famous musician from Bollywood, on keyboard. On bass guitar and handling sound was Wilfred Pinto from Abu Dhabi.

The artistes took the audience on a long nostalgic musical journey dating back to the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was a great feeling listening to favorite and popular songs that the old and young have grown up listening to. This was intertwined by popular Konkani and Kannada numbers as well, proving the versatility of the singers. The show left the audience mesmerized and reveling in musical entertainment of such great magnitude that the evening could be summed up as exceptional and truly spectacular!

Songs were belted out one after another. 'Ajeeb dastan hai yeh', the famous song form the movie Dil of the 60's flagged off the show. 'Aage bhi jaane na tu' from Waqt, 'Yeh sham mastani', from Kati Patang, 'Pehla nasha' from Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar, 'Tumse milke aise laga tumse milke' from Parinda, 'Ek pyaar ka nagma hai', from Shor, 'Tujse Naaraz nahe jindaji hairan hu main', from Masoom, 'Aaj ki raath hona hai kya', 'ye mera dil pyaar ka diwana', 'Jab koi baat bigad jaye', 'Raat akeli hai', 'Ramaiya vastavaiya', 'Aap jaisa koi mere jindagi me aye', 'Tum be ho', 'Pal pal dil ke paas tum rehti ho' were just some of the many golden Hindi songs that took the audiene down memory lane. Tulu song 'Moke da singari untude vaiyaari' and Kannada song 'Baanigondu elle ellide' sung by Gopi were enjoyed all.

One of the members in the audience expressed that old memories of yesteryears came cascading down listening to these golden hits that were not heard in a long time! He sounded overjoyed.

There was never a quiet moment. Gopi Kamath with his wit and humour entertained the audience to peals of laughter in between the songs. There was some interactive singing where the audience also sang along. Some of the songs were too irresistible to the audience who cheered and clapped and took to the floor to catchy numbers. The energetic Baila session marked the finale of the show and brought most of the audience to the dance floor.

The evening was a grand celebration of Indian music. It was yet another feather in the cap of the Paradelas for such coordinated team effort and a well-organized event. The artistes Gopi Kamath and team presented a remarkably impressive show and created musical memories that the audience will cherish forever.