The Band Rocked the New Year’s Party at Naren’s BB’s!!

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The revelers after the stroke of midnight and into the first few moments of 2015 at Bombay Brasserie’s new banquet hall.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: So, it was a spontaneous idea to get a New Year’s party together, as Swatantra Jain made calls to a list of his friends who were still deciding where to go. And Narender Sehgal was game, with the new banquet hall he just finished putting the final touches to, just next door to his Bombay Brasserie restaurant, adjoining with passages from the large dining room. Word spread like wildfire to the others who were still undecided.

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The Darshak Thacker Band performed all evening with Darshak at the drums, Manek Joshi and Hardik Jani belting out songs and Kamal Haji on the keyboards.

Gluing the two together was the energetic four man Darshak Thacker Liveband, pieced together by one of the city’s most sought out sounds and lights guy behind Krishna Sounds, including his own place as the gifted, vibrant dhol and electronic drums player that Thacker is, and sounds control by his wife, Mona, as always behind the scenes. The band featured the mean singing talents of a jeans-clad Manek Joshi and bearded Hardik Jani in a shiny blue coat, with backup and an occasional riff of his own by keyboardist Kamal Haji.

The band played an interlude between the appetizers and dinner and then non-stop from 10:30 onwards through midnight when the party animals donned New Year’s hats and crowns, blew horns and paper whistles and made merry before trickling out. The banquet hall can easily accommodate 120 people and still have space for a dancefloor, which was packed by revelers on this New Year’s Eve.

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Hardik Jani sings a request.

Sehgal and his son Sanjay made sure that the food was superb, starting with the non-stop appetizers and open bar and continuing on through the sit down dinner menu which was served in deep dishes at each table. Both were all around, working the staff and making sure that the food and service flowed seamlessly.

At the tail end of the night, just before the party-goers left, they nipped in for a cup of masala chai or coffee and one last item. “You got to try the mini-veggie burgers and stick French Fries,” said one patron as she walked by chewing a bite. “It’s to die for!”