Taro dhol baje!

With Pathak, one learns to expect the unexpected. But during the Navratris, one wouldn8217;t go too wrong in betting to see her at the Gore...

Singer Falguni Pathak at Goregaon Sports Club, Mumbai

THE pandal at the Goregaon Sports Club is getting its finishing touches, but Falguni Pathak is already restless. In her short hair, trademark black trousers and blazer, with a trendy scarf thrown around her neck, she cuts an unlikely figure as India8217;s Dandiya Queen. But then, living up to images has never been Pathak8217;s strong point. So one isn8217;t particularly surprised when she confesses that she has never been formally trained in music. 8216;8216;It8217;s only recently that I have started learning classical vocal,8217;8217; she says unabashedly.

With Pathak, one learns to expect the unexpected. But during the Navratris, one wouldn8217;t go too wrong in betting to see her at the Goregaon Sports Club, where, for nine nights, she will enthrall a 40,000-strong crowd as they dance to the click of their dandiyas. 8216;8216;I never leave Mumbai during Navratri,8217;8217; she says, even as she waits impatiently for the workmen scattered across the 3,50,000 sq ft area to finish.

8216;8216;But even after so many years of singing professionally, I still can8217;t believe all these preparations are for me, for our show, for our group. And I know, once the crowds start building up, I will be awed to see so many people dancing to my music.8217;8217;

It is a far cry from her first Navratri programme at Jolly Gymkhana at Ghatkopar 15 years ago. 8216;8216;After that year, I performed at the Krishnalaya Society, at the NSC, the Police Ground and every well-known pandal across Mumbai. At that time, I used to sing with any and every troupe, because I couldn8217;t organise my own lights, sound system or even a dedicated team of musicians. Then, in 1994, I signed up with Sankalp an organising group and I8217;ve been performing at the Goregaon Sports Club regularly since then,8217;8217; says Pathak. 8216;8216;But for all that, my most memorable show is my first one with Sankalp, when I performed with my own group, Ta Thaiya, for the very first time.8217;8217;

Notwithstanding the success she has received as a recording artiste, at this time of the year, Pathak8217;s focus is firmly on Garba. 8216;8216;I am a very god-fearing person. Even now, before each of my performances, I make it a point to read the Hanuman Chalisa. It is supposed to protect us,8217;8217; she says.

But it8217;s clear as the evening deepens and the mother goddess is invoked, the only protection Pathak will need is from fans screaming for more.