An evening to remember

Imagine if you will a scenario- you are on an evening drive with your new girlfriend (or boyfriend) and “Ek mai aur ek tu, dono mile is tarah” starts to play on the radio. The memories from that drive are likely to be imprinted in your mind forever- the smell of the river, the hue of the twilight sky, the gentle way in which she smiles at you while the breeze blows her hair in her face, and the absolute joy you feel when you realize how aptly the song adds to the promise of your future together.

One of life’s most beautiful truths is the universality of music. Most people will feel the urge to speed up like SRK when “Yeh dil! deewanaa, dewanaaaaaaaa hai ye dil” starts playing in our cars, and all of us gaze into the distance in melancholia when we hear “Kahiiiin door, jab din dhal jaaye”.”Music is the soundtrack to celebrating the big moments of life, but also, the mundane ones like cooking, cleaning and working. It is a silent witness and a steady companion to our stories.

Last Sunday’s Antakshari quiz has set a high benchmark for SEQC. Thanks to our well-versed Quiz masters, Shwetambari and Sanjay, we were treated to an evening of musical magic. Their quiz was a masterclass – concise and entertaining in equal measure-and included rounds such as singing missing lines, identifying songs from their opening bars to pictionary and dumb charades. Songs spanned decades to include hits from the 1950s to recent chart busters like “Saiyaara”, thus ensuring everyone was included - even those who are tone deaf.

My personal favorites were 1) the singing round because it was a pleasant surprise to see folks singing with great voices and enthusiasm and 2) the “hook step” dumb charades because Shwetambari chose such spot-on songs and even aided the teams by doing them when we were not able to.

The QMs were expertly supported by their kids, Sudhanshu and Siddhanth, who seemed to have been infected by their parents’ musical bug as well! Together they ensured that party to pakki thi!! The evening was aided by the expert attention of the staff at Carlito’s Attique who kept us well fed with lip-smacking goan food and delicious cocktails.

A huge thank you to the Parab family for doing this and to Devika and Srijit, for securing a venue that matched the raucous spirit of the event. Here’s hoping this quiz marks the beginning of a new annual SEQC tradition. Until then—gaata rahe humara dil!