Southern hospitality with an Indian twist Hidden Gems concert raises $10,000 for Katrina aid for Mississippi town BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Aparna Naik dances to the song “It’s the Time to Disco” during the Hidden Gems’ Katrina fundraiser in South Brunswick on Saturday. SOUTH BRUNSWICK — The Indian singing group the Hidden Gems performed a benefit concert, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Plainsboro, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina before a packed audience at the South Brunswick Senior Center on Saturday. This is not the first time the Hidden Gems have performed to benefit victims of disaster. The group formed in January specifically to help the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. MIGUEL JUAREZ staff South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese lights a candle for the god Ganesh (One Who Removes Obstacles) at the Hidden Gems concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday. Since their first concert in February, their numbers have grown from 12 to 25. According to Mehendra Solanki, a member of the Hidden Gems, their level of confidence also has grown. “For our first time, [there] was a much shorter time to prepare the whole thing, so there was a lot of anxiety. ... Our confidence has increased a lot and people know us now. We are not hidden anymore,” Solanki said. Because the last show was in February, close to Valentine’s Day, there was a large focus on love songs. For this show, the group decided to perform a more eclectic set of songs. Also new was the addition of dances to certain songs. On stage, Mayor Frank Gambatese thanked the Indian community of South Brunswick for putting together this benefit to help those in need. “It’s really a pleasure to see the different cultures that contribute to this community. ... Different cultures coming together to help other people in need is what South Brunswick is all about,” Gambatese said. He went on to say that the people of D’Iberville, Miss., a hurricane-torn town that South Brunswick has specifically decided to help rebuild, are still in great need. “They have nothing down there. I can’t tell you how bad it is down there,” Gambatese said. He said that, for now, the town needs money more than anything else, preferably in the form of gift cards to stores such as Home Depot and Target so families can begin to replace some of the things they have lost. Saturday’s show was composed of 21 songs from popular Bollywood movies. Some, like the opener “Shokhiyon Mein,” performed by Rajesh Kulkarni and Chitra Kumar, were more down-tempo love songs. Others, like the sixth song “Haal Kaisa Hai,” performed by Abilash Gandhi and Jayeshree Iyer, were more uptempo and whimsical in nature. There were several songs in the set, such as “Dayya Dayya” and “It’s the Time to Disco,” which made use of music and dance. The singers were of various ages, with the youngest Kaustubh Kulkarni, 13, singing a solo, “Mere Saamnewali.” During the show, the crowd seemed to come alive. Many times, the audience clapped with the beat and some sang along to the songs they knew. During the faster songs, people would get out of their chairs and begin dancing in the aisles and in front of the stage, with smiles on every face. At one point, during the last song “Koi Kahe,” performed by Rajesh Kulkarni, Ravi Agnihotri and Ramana Subramanian, people even began to get up onto the stage to dance and sing along. “I thought it was fantastic. I liked the whole choreography and ambiance, how it conveyed the whole community coming together,” said Prasad Chinni, of South Brunswick. In total, the Hidden Gems raised $10,000. The group gave donors a choice among three charities to give to: the Red Cross, UNICEF and CARE, with the Red Cross getting the most money. Solanki said he wished to thank the volunteers who helped put the concert together and the community for being as generous as it was. The Hidden Gems are in the planning stages for another concert tentatively scheduled for January to benefit survivors of the earthquake in Kashmir.