MUMBAI: Dandiya Queen Falguni Pathak, who recently graced the Bhumi Pujan for Navratri Utsav 2018 in Goregaon, also celebrated the completion of 25 years of her band Ta Thaiya. The event was organised by Showbizz.

Speaking on the occasion, happy Falguni spoke on On her 25 year-long journey with her band Ta Thaiya. She said, “I didn’t even realise how these 25 years passed so fast. Every year, we have learnt something new. We used to sit and evaluate our performances to find out our mistakes. I am very excited for our performance this year also.”

Falguni and her band has performed at different places. On being asked about her best performance with Ta Thaiya in past 25 years, Falguni revealed, “My every year was special and I kept on getting loads of love and a good response from people, every year. But, the first i.e. 1994, when Ta Thaiya was formed, I still remember the sight of audience coming to attend our performance on the very first day of Navratri, post forming our group. It is the best memory of my life. Around a crowd of 10-12 k attended our first performance and people loved it.”

On her preparations prior to Navratri, Pathak revealed the master plan of her band. She said, “Normally, we start preparing around one and a half month ago. Initially we three four people sit at my house and decide the songs we will be playing. And then we discuss the same with our group. We then rehearse on the songs with our group, five six days prior to Navratri. Our rehearsals are currently going on in Andheri.”

On her fees, Falguni told, “We have a team of 30-40 people. We sit and divide money spent on sound, light etc and how much it has increased as we have to give increment every year. So, based on this, we request the organisers to increase our fees.”

Falguni doesn’t miss playing dandiya. “I don’t actually miss playing Garba, but seeing people play Garba on our tunes is satisfies me,” she exclaimed.

When asked about the secret behind her fitness and voice, the Dandiya Queen revealed, “I don’t everything I eat during the year. I don’t eat curd, pickle, icecream and anything that is cold.

On the transition in music over years, Falguni had a thought. She said, “It’s become too much of a techno. The feel of live music is missing today. The songs, made earlier, were legendary which even fresh today. Today’s songs remain in the memory of people only for a month or two, because of the electronisation of music.”

When asked about her thoughts on recreations and remixes that are a current trend, the Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi singer said, “Original songs, of course, are good but remixes are also good, though some of them and not all.”

Lastly, Falguni and her band are indeed an inspiration for aspiring musicians to follow suit. Sharign some useful tips for them, Falguni signed off, “It’s always about hard work and team work. It is only because of the support I have received from my team, it became possible to spend 25 years together as a band.”

The singer, who has been an icon for many, prefers music. Falguni Pathak and Ta Thaiya will grace the crowd in Borivalli, Mumbai on Navratri 2018.