‘Dandiya Queen’ Falguni Pathak may not have performed at the traditional MaKaBo stage in Borivali this year, but the roaring welcome she received at the Jio World Convention Centre should have more than made up for it. In fact, so great was the crowd’s excitement at spotting the singer that Nita Ambani had to pause her speech midway so chants of “Falguni, Falguni” could echo throughout the venue.
Nita Ambani at Dandiya night
Nita Ambani celebrated Navratri by joining singer Falguni Pathak at the Radiance Dandiya Night at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on September 22. The chairperson of Reliance Foundation addressed a crowd of thousands at the venue, where she took the stage to introduce Falguni Pathak as the “soul and the voice of dandiya”.
For decades, Falguni Pathak has regaled devotees by performing at dandiya festivities. Her iconic place in Navratri celebrations has earned her the title of the Queen of Dandiya.
Falguni Pathak has performed at Mumbai’s Borivali for the last few years. This year, however, her performance was moved to Radiance Dandiya Night at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).
Nita Ambani pauses speech
A guest at the dandiya night captured the moment when Nita Ambani paused her speech after introducing Falguni Pathak so that the enthusiastic crowd could chant the singer’s name.
The woman who posted the video described it as a “literal goosebumps moment”.
“Nita Ambani stops her speech in between when 10,000+ fans cheer aloud ‘Falguni… Falguni… Falguni’,” read the on-screen caption on the video.
In the Instagram post, the woman also supported the venue change. “This year lot of sentiments are around Falguni ji performing at Jio Convention center instead of Borivali like previous years. But trust me, this was elevated experience that we needed for such high gathering and popular artists events, specially in today’s time where infrastructure is much better at such venue,” she wrote.
Nita Ambani recalls childhood memories
Speaking at the event, Nita Ambani shared her fond memories of the festival of Navratri. “I remember, when I was a young girl, I used to dance all nine nights of Navratri. It brings back so many beautiful memories,” she said.
She also spoke about her long association with Falguni Pathak, adding, “I’ve known Falguni for 25 years.”
(Also read: ‘I used to dance all 9 nights’: Nita Ambani gets roaring welcome at Falguni Pathak dandiya night in Mumbai)
