200 ordinary Mumbaikars (aged 4-60) come together one busy Sunday evening for the pure joy of dancing. The historic CST station blares 'Rang De Basanti' on their speakers while surprised train commuters rush to see whats going on.
When a group of 200 got together to put up a dance act at the world-famous railway station in Mumbai, trains stopped running for 10 minutes and the ever-busy Mumbaikars joined the gig. The flash mob video, with over two lakh hits, is the latest craze on Internet. Team Viva reports
It was a normal Sunday afternoon for most Mumbaikars. The usual hustle and bustle had slowed to a rhythmic drone. The CST train station almost working like a clock. In a city that’s famous for always being on the run and its people always on their toes, it was slightly amiss to see two girls breaking into perfect synchronised dance steps at the busy terminal. The station was filled with the sound of Rang De Basanti blaring from the speakers. The commuters stopped in their tracks and changed their directions to where all the action was happening. The numbers kept swelling as the music became louder and the tempo increased.
The two girls, in flawless rhythm, danced merrily, oblivious to the curious looks they got from everyone around. The looks turned to blatant staring as they were soon joined by many others. Pocket cameras and mobile phones came out and clicked away in frenzy. A large crowd soon gathered and nudged each other, wondering, “What is this?”
The onlookers were clearly perplexed, clueless as to what was happening? Was this a movie shoot? But then the film unit was missing. The catchy number soon had most onlookers tapping their feet to the music and clapping to the beat. The more adventurous ones too started to follow the steps and twirled to the song’s Bhangra beats. Kids left the shelter of their parents, the elderly stood politely and applauded the “phenomena” that was going on.
Soon the claps and the foot-tapings reached the consistency of a perfectly well-rehearsed piece of choreography. The commuters all stood spell-bound. They had paused their usual whirl of life, hopping in and out of trains, scrambling for a window seat. Now they stood and became a part of the spectacle. Almost 500 strangers danced together while others stood and applauded. The spirit of Mumbai was at its possible best and at what better a venue than the iconic CST, the hallmark of Mumbai.
Housewives did the twist, laughed when they missed a step but kept going. Some of the kids climbed on their father’s shoulders and clapped with enthusiasm. The song lasted for close to five minutes, during which they changed the CST station to a sacred space of performance. This was an act of patriotism.
The video went viral Sunday evening, and in two days had over two lakh hits on YouTube. Flash mobs, made famous in the Hollywood movies, Steps-I and II, have also been used in American TV shows like Glee, Modern Family and Weeds.
Organiser Shonan Kothari said that she managed to mobilise people to practice for almost a fortnight before executing the dance at the station. She added the railway authorities embraced the idea immediately. Senior divisional operations manager at Indian Railways Atul Rane is said to have organised the camera placements, lighting and ladders. Kothari said she didn’t spread the word on any social networking website deliberately as she expected a huge response. The dancers were taught the choreography in small batches over the course of two weeks in a Malabar Hill park.
Looks like Mumbai just celebrated its undying spirit with a new offering. The Flash Mob was organised to commemorate the attacks on Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
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