Show back with a bang in Ahmedabad

Garba organisers suffered a huge loss on Monday. But the show must  go on come rain or shine.

So, they were back with a bang on Tuesday and being committed to sponsors, they sold tickets for the day’s event.

It is estimated that the organisers on SG Highway had incurred a loss of up to Rs10 lakh during the day. “First in sponsorship, second stalls and third, drop in ticket sales. Usually, sponsors pay 50% in advance and the rest after Dussehra. In that situation, the sponsors negotiate and reduce the amount,” said Himanshu Shah, managing director of SOI Event Management.

There was a drastic fall in the sale of tickets at the garba night organised by SOI at Amiraj Farms on Monday. “There was almost 50% fall in footfall due to the rain. Most of the revellers use two-wheelers and so they avoid the risk of getting ready and reaching the venue. Fall in the sale of tickets is the second-biggest loss. Thirdly, those who hired stalls at the venues will also negotiate on rent due to the low footfall. Together, we incurred a huge loss on Monday,” said Shah.

“None of us has cancelled the event. We have found that despite the rain, youngsters will turn up.

Participation was certainly less. For us, the biggest loss was the 30% fall in ticket sales,” said Jaydeep Mehta, the director of True Events, organising the garba at the YMCA Club.

In case of Rajpath Club, the average daily sale of tickets is around 3,000. “But, due to the rain, it plunged to less than 1,000 on Monday. Moreover, the picture on Tuesday was dicey as it rained in the evening. Besides, organisers had incurred losses in decoration. The rain had damaged a huge LED. The equipment, electric wire, lights and more are well covered with plastic to avoid any untoward incident. But, we have no reason to cancel the event. We had planned for the disco dandiya theme; if it rains, it will be disco rain dandiya,” said Arvind Singh, the business head of Xpertz, organising the garba night at Rajpath Club.

There were some exceptions though. Karnavati Club and Celebrations Party Plot recorded a high footfall. “Our footfall was higher because the government had cancelled its garba programme. But, in two days, we have incurred losses as we had to spend 60% more of the total production cost as the rain had spoiled the decorations,” said director of Page 3 Events, Keyur Desai, organiser of the garba evening at Celebrations Party Plot.

Anil Rawal, organiser for Karnavati Club, said they had arranged machines to drain out the water and enough sand was put to dry the land. “There is a dome prepared for the stage to protect the music and sound instruments so that in case it rains, the equipment is secured. The footfall was high even after the downpour,” he said.

The rain, however, has failed to dampen spirits. “I don’t think any of the students had any problem dancing after rain. We are working continuously on the electricity to check and repair if any problem crops up. That’s why, we have shifted all the electrical arrangements away from the playground,” said Jaumin Panchasara, third-year student of NID, who organised the NID garba show.

Two events cancelled
Only two events were cancelled on Tuesday. Garba programmes at the government-organised one at GMDC and the Godrej Garden City were cancelled for the second consecutive day. “We wish to inform you that due to heavy rain, the garba celebrations have been cancelled at Godrej Garden City today evening. We thank you for your support and understanding. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to garba revellers,” said Rupak Agarwal, the VP, operations, of Godrej Properties.