There are some evenings in Kolkata when you know almost immediately that you are going to remember them for a long time. This was one of those evenings.
It was a cool February Sunday and we found ourselves at the Tollygunge Club for what promised to be a rather special evening — Celebrating Kolkata. And special it certainly was!
The moment we walked in, there was a distinct buzz in the air. This wasn't your usual evening out. Everywhere you looked, there seemed to be someone familiar. The stage and the audience were filled with Kolkata's Who's Who — film stars, industrialists, politicians, musicians, fashion designers and personalities from just about every walk of life. It was quite literally a star-studded evening!
For me, there were two people in particular whom I was really looking forward to seeing — Bappi Lahiri and Shashi Tharoor. And as the evening unfolded, I wasn't disappointed.
The proceedings began with the Governor of West Bengal, Mr. M. K. Narayanan, addressing the gathering. The evening was being compered by Mr. Sanjay Budhia, Managing Director of the Patton Group, who did a wonderful job of keeping things moving as personality after personality came onto the stage.
And there were plenty of them!
As the evening progressed, there seemed to be a never-ending parade of familiar faces, with people coming up to receive or present commendations. I found myself playing a little game of recognition from my seat — Oh, there's so-and-so! Among those I managed to spot and recognise were Krishna Bose, Sanjiv Goenka, Harshavardhan Neotia, Partha Chatterjee, Aparna Sen, Roopa Ganguly, Nandita Das, Rituparna Sengupta, Konkona Sen, Raima Sen, Debashree Roy, Paoli Dam, Dev, Arindam Sil, Anjan Chatterjee, Suhel Seth and the ever-multifaceted Pritish Nandy, among many others.
There was also a fashion show, with several of the evening's celebrities taking to the stage in creations by fashion designer Jyotee Khaitan. It added another glamorous dimension to an already glittering evening.
But then came the part I had been waiting for.
Bappi Lahiri!
The legendary composer and singer took to the stage accompanied by none other than Usha Uthup — Kolkata's original Didi. And what a combination that turned out to be! The duo launched into some of their legendary numbers and, almost instantly, the mood in the room changed.
It was impossible not to tap your feet.
Watching Bappi Da and Usha Uthup perform together was one of those moments that takes you back through the years. Their music has been such a huge part of our lives that you don't really need an introduction to the songs — the first few notes are enough to transport you somewhere else. The two of them absolutely rocked the evening!
And then, as if the evening hadn't already provided enough entertainment, came Shashi Tharoor.
I have always enjoyed listening to Tharoor, and seeing him in person was something I had particularly looked forward to. He rounded off the evening with some of his trademark anecdotes, wit and, of course, that wonderfully elaborate vocabulary that has come to be known as Tharoorian English. There were plenty of laughs as he regaled the audience with his stories.
Looking around that evening, I couldn't help feeling that this was Kolkata at its best — a fascinating mix of the old and the new, of cinema, music, business, politics, fashion and culture, all coming together under one roof.
Among the other personalities I remember seeing were singers Urmimala Basu and Iman Chakraborty, fashion designer Anamika Khanna, tabla maestros Bikram Ghosh and Tanmoy Bose, actresses Mumtaz Sorcar and Jaya Seal, hotelier and industrialist Karan Paul, and many more.
It was one of those rare evenings when you could simply sit back, look around and think — Yes, this is Kolkata!
A cool February evening, the magnificent Tollygunge Club, some of the city's best-known personalities, a little fashion, a lot of music, plenty of laughter and two people I was especially keen to see.
Quite a memorable way to spend a Sunday evening — celebrating the city I call home.
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