Updated: April 17th, 2024
Closing in on a double decade is a feeling that keeps getting more intense each passing day. And we’re another year closer to our double decade. Yes, we turned 20 this year. And it’s a brand new year for us; a year full of new hopes, aspirations, and goals. There were good things that happened, challenges that stared at us, solutions that we devised, and accomplishments we bagged. And past Friday, the 12th of April 2019, we celebrated just that.
The pleasant evening breeze, the foot-thumping bass, the glistening lights, the exhilarating performances, and the lovely audience made our Friday night, a night to remember. But that was just a grand finale to the fun that began 5 days ago.
Lo and Behold ! Last Monday Was Everything But Blue!
How do you feel when you come to work and you feel like some things changed overnight? It’s certainly a thrill of a certain kind. Last Monday greeted the Netizens with a photo booth, one of its kind—one that gave everyone a chance to leave messages for one another in Net Solutions, besides posing with interesting props. And work, it did.
From jokes to, warm wishes, to appreciation, to pranks, the idea was much more than a photo booth. And, as the days passed by, the excitement kept building, the shutterbugs and the muses were having an equally gala time, waiting for the final day to arrive.
The Day has Arrived
As if the Friday vibe wasn’t enough, the 12th April, 2019 was pulsating with excitement as the clock was about to strike 7. Graced with the presence of our CEO, Sameer Jain, the COO, Aditi Jain, their esteemed guests, the super enthusiastic Netizens, and their families, we began the show.
Our ever graceful Simranjit, and the jovial Dheeraj took the stage to welcome all with warmth and gratitude. And what better than a prayer to begin the evening?
Our bubbly Vidhu began tapping to a devotional number and set the ball for the evening rolling.
As Vidhu’s performance concluded, we proceeded with some light-hearted fun compering with Dheeraj (Dheeraj, we’re really looking forward to even better jokes from you next time) on the stage encore, accompanied by our charming Garima.
Next in line, were some soothing melodies from the totally talented lot, Jaskiran, Sandeep, Umang on the vocals and Aashish on the guitar. While Jaskiran’s solo struck an emotional note with the audience, the group renditions along with Sandeep, Umang, and Ashish energized everyone.
Amanpreet and Firoz! On the stage…off you go and make the audience laugh. And that’s what they did. We’ve known Firoz for a funny bone in his body, and Amanpreet complemented him well. The comperes did tickle some ribs before they called Poonam on stage.
If you were here last time, you know Poonam needs no introduction. Our very own power-packed dancing star. She’s made quite a few fans who sang and danced along as she presented her solo dance performance to a medley of peppy numbers. She bowled us over yet again.
Everyone loves this duo on stage—Simran and Firoz. With some very original poetry, they loosed a laughter riot. And that was a perfect prelude to what Rakesh Suthar had up his sleeve.
Enter Rakesh Suthar, a serious-looking guy who was anything but serious, and what ensued left us in splits. Mimicry, topped with comedy, powered by such an original script—the perfect recipe for comedy that is rolling-on-floor-laughing-my-hat-off kind. He had everyone in splits and the entire amphitheatre echoing with applause.
We saw Dheeraj and Amanpreet pulling each other’s leg on stage, and what fun it was. Speaking of fun, I think I saw the next set of performers really having fun as they danced and acted.
Shweta, Simarjeet Singh, Asha, Manish, Nishtha, Pooja Goyal, Nitin, Shruti, Shanu, Karuna, Vidhu, Sourabh, Hitesh Kumar, and Shikha danced to some retro bollywood beats and took our hearts away.
P.S: Special credit for Paramjeet Singh for audio editing.
Life however, is not a bed of roses, especially for the soldiers who protect us from the enemy without a complaint. The dawn of this year, especially, hasn’t been very kind to our soldiers. Our next act saluted the martyrs who laid their lives for us, and to those who are always ready to face such situations. Pradeep and Chetna, clad in combat, presented a dance performance that gave us goosebumps.
To lighten up the mood, next up was a newbie to Net Solutions—Kanchan, the very face of elegance and poise. Her semi-classical-contemporary fusion dance performance had us watch her in awe.
And, time for some more melodies again. This time Jaskiran, Umang, Sandeep, and Aashish were joined by the Rock Star of Net Solutions—Himanshu. Song after song, after another song, we just didn’t get to know how time flew. But we did know when they ended with their soulful rendition of Vande Mataram! I wish I had words for the kind of talent Net Solutions has.
You know you are in Punjab when, your comperes start with English, ease into Hindi, and slip comfortably into Punjabi to find just the right idiom to convey their emotions. (Pssst...Simran and Firoz did exactly that.) And you know you are in Punjab when the showstopper of every event is, yes, Bhangra! Bhangra! Bhangra!
Hermeet, Inderjeet, Nishtha, Nitesh, Harjap, Ravneet, and Abhay sent some serious dancing virus down the audience with their Bhangra moves. No better concluding act than Bhangra by these aficionados.
And we let loose, and we danced, till we dropped, only to remind ourselves that something better is waiting for us—the dinner :)
A big thanks to our amazing HR team, and all those who supported them to make this celebration a hit. Hoping for many more and happier birthdays. Kudos to us all!
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