MUMBAI: More than 80 people gathered at the auditorium in Vile Parle, to enjoy a special musical event called 'Drum-E-Baaz'. Organised by Mohit J Gopalani, the music event was part of an initiative to encourage his students to play good quality music in front of friends and families.

Gopalani, who works for Furtados, is a member of Wajood Band and also runs a small music class - Musical Vibes, which specialises in teaching Drums. "I started working on the project a month and a half ago. The performers were from the current batch of students. Students from my previous batches did not participate, but were present to encourage the ones on stage.” The five students who participated were Gaurav Raghani, Gunjan Rajgarhia, Shreyaas Patekar, Vivaan Bhandary and Vishal Sheshagiri, all between the ages 11 and 19.

The students were given participation certificates as a token of appreciation for their work. They also received T-shirts from Youngisthan, which was a sponsor for the event. The students along with Gopalani invested in infrastructure like venue, while Furtados supported them with the gear. "I have been teaching from May 2010, and students who have been with me for four half years, attended the event.”

Gopalani hopes that next year he will be able to make the project bigger. "The event was executed very smoothly and I think next time I plan to make it bigger in terms of quality and number of people.
 

He also believes that Furtados will help him in future projects as well and is hoping to rope in new partners the next time.