Kathmandu:

Who says women over thirty cannot party? Last weekend they proved a point when they brought the roof down in Hotel Yak and Yeti with their oomph, daring and, of course, sportiveness.

The occasion was the fundraising event ‘An evening in Bollywood’ organised by Active Women of Nepal (AWON). Be it the incomparable Rupy Singh doing a Rekha in Kaisi paheli from Parineeta or former Miss India Ritu Vaidya reviving the Aishwarya Rai magic in Kajra re. Ritu incidentally choreographed the show.

As cat calls and whistles rent the air, the sultry Urvashi Rana took stage to do the rustic item number from Omkara. Couple Shavona and Samyak (his trademark dark glasses et al) recreated the Dil chahata hain magic with Woh ladki hain kahan, while Prem Gurung did his chivalrous bit providing support to all and sundry.

The Bollywood magic apart, the sell-out crowd which included diplomats, businessmen and Kathmandu’s elite, had a whale of a time grooving to the music and sometimes chuckling when the dancers stumbled. The gyrations seemed out of place, but not the spirit of participation. While some huffed and puffed, dancers like Rachana Gurung slipped effortlessly into a flawless rendition of Dola re from Devdas with Bhawna Rana.

Teenagers Savana Vaidya and Chandni Chawla did their bit to help the cause by churning out impeccable versions of Dhoom and Nimbooda. Punjabi kudis Daljeet Sudan and Jagdeep Singh did their origins proud with a rousing rendition of Mahi re. So much so, the normally shy and reticent James Moriarty couldn’t help doing balle balle, albeit a bit clumsily. But again his spirit should be lauded.

The inimitable and catty Jitu Rana lorded over his table and had to be pulled down several times, especially when wife Bhawna was ‘dola-re-ing’ lest he be mistaken for a centrepiece. But like always Jitu had loads of fun while lustily cheering the performers and goading others to do likewise.

At the end of the fun-filled evening what mattered most was the event succeeded in raising enough money to be used for the welfare of women and children. AWON already provides scholarships to 300 girl children in the villages of Nepal apart from providing skills training to women.