Why fitness rocks

Jonathan D'souza

You walk into a concert venue and head straight to the bar. Fortified with a drink in hand, you mingle with the people you know in the audience, exchanging hellos. Then, the gig starts. By now, you are two drinks down, and the music elevates your tipsy state of mind. You let your hair down and dance till the performance is over. And depending on how you're holding up after that, you seek out an after-party or head back home and hit the sack.

Andrew D'souza

That's what transpires with the audience members at most music events in the city (unless it's a classical concert, of course). But an event tomorrow promises to turn this situation on its head. It's being billed as India's first ever "fitness rock gig". The idea, says co-organiser Harsh Dalmia, is for a band to play thumping rock music to get the audience suitably charged up, before a zumba expert - Jignya Johri - starts taking people through a fitness routine, with a DJ playing in the background and the rock band making occasional appearances on stage.

Jigya Johri and Harsh Dalmia

It's not something we have heard of before, and we ask Dalmia how he hit on the idea. "Jignya and I both come from investment banking backgrounds and have been friends for long. But she has now quit her job and conducts zumba classes full-time for corporate companies. We were chilling at home one day when we thought about how, when people normally talk about fitness, they think, 'I want to exercise to look good, so let's go for a walk or hit the gym.' It's a process, just like going to office is. So, I told Jignya, 'Why not combine our passions and make your zumba fun?'"

He adds that his own passion is music, and the story behind Limitless - the band he's formed that will play its debut gig at this event - also has its genesis in his living room. What transpired is that Dalmia had hired two musicians, brothers Andrew and Jonathan D'Souza, for a surprise gig on his wife's birthday last month, with him joining in on vocals. The trio rehearsed together for the performance, which went off so well that they later decided to form a full-fledged band, bringing Rex Pereira, Joshua Fernandes and Anaita Viegas on board. That laid the foundations for Limitless, and when Dalmia and Johri hatched the plan of combining fitness and live music together, it provided the outfit the perfect platform for its first concert.

The next thing that the duo did is look for sponsors. For, the agenda is to make this event a regular money-making enterprise. "We want to make this a thing for weddings and corporate occasions, because what happens at shaadis is, wahi daaru, wahi baatein. But here, you don't need alcohol. You're already having fun and your energy levels are high since you're exercising," Dalmia says, revealing his eventual plan for what is genuinely an unusual event, regardless of whether it's India's first-ever fitness rock concert or not.

ON: April 13, 4 pm
AT: The Imperial Banquets, BB Nakshey Marg, Tardeo.
LOG ON TO: bookmyshow.com
COST: Rs 499

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