Imagine Palash Sen coming to your neighbourhood and singing the 90s favourites ‘Dhoom,’ ‘Maaeri,’ and others live for you and your loved ones! Wouldn’t you be ‘Euphoric’? This dream came true for all those who attended the much-awaited art and cultural weekend at Palava, the Palava Carnival!
The Palava Carnival weekend is an annual fanfare of entertaining art and cultural performances, varied local cuisines, live music acts, and the most sought-after, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Palava,’ and ‘Palava’s Got Talent.’ The winners this year were, residents, Rajiv Saigal and Khushdeep Kaur and they were judged by model Ashni Panchal, brand ambassador for Femina Mrs. India, Kareena Vaswani, and India Fashion Week model, Mandar Surve. Interestingly Ashni, a mother of two has been mentoring the participants of this competition since its first season held in 2017.
The weekend also felicitated the ‘Masters of Palava,’ residents who have been pursuing their dreams, raising the bar and breaking boundaries. Listen in to Yogesh Patkar, a veteran award-winning dance director in the Indian Film Industry who has choreographed 7 Television Reality shows and is running a dance academy in Palava since the past 8 years. Give a round of applause to Palava’s National Veteran Table Tennis Champion, Sivapriya Nayak who recently won two bronze medals in the Under-50 category in the Mixed Double and the Team event as a part of the Maharashtra team at the 28th National Veterans Table Tennis Championship. And next time you think of giving up, remember Shubham Vanmali. This professional swimmer who has crossed the English Channel, Strait of Gibraltar, Catalina Channel, Manhattan Marathon Swim has not only overcome asthma and learning disabilities, he has recently been awarded the ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award’ in recognition of his unmatched dedication in Water Adventure!
While Euphoria gave the weekend a fitting finale, the carnival’s opening act was performed by a local rock band, Euphony led by Satish Nair well known for their compositions for ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati!’ And in addition to music and awards, the evening witnessed a dance performance by Sandhya Purecha, a renowned Bharatanatyam exponent and performer, and a talk on Ancient Weapons of India by Nilesh Satre.
While the rest of the world had its eyes set on Lionel Messi and Argentina’s bid for the FIFA World Cup, at Palava, our residents were immersed in celebrating the holiday season and making memories with their loved ones! Lush green open spaces, close knit communities, an array of opportunities to pursue long lost hobbies and a home where one can savour life, Palava is more than a city, it’s an emotion!
Catch a glimpse of the electrifying performances and excitement at the carnival right here: