BUENOS AIRES: If you’re ever in Buenos Aires don’t forget to visit Groove, a trendy nightclub that should pleasantly surprise any Indian. Because at Groove you won’t hear salsa or reggaton music, like you do at most such places, but instead soulful Sanskrit melodies that rent the air.
“I had the most unusual nightclub experience last weekend while I was at Groove,” says R Viswanathan, India’s ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
“The DJ was not playing salsa, samba or reggaton. Instead, the club was vibrating to Sanskrit songs… ‘ Jai jai Radha Ramana hari Bol’, ‘Jai Krishna Hare’, ‘Gurudeva Guru Om’, ‘Govinda Govinda’ and ‘Jai Shiva Shambo’.”
The club serves only vegetarian food and soft drinks. Smoking and drinking are not allowed. The club also has a yoga guru who instructs guests on various yoga techniques.
“The instructor asked the audience to smile and exchange greetings and the audience followed all his instructions fervently . After a while, the music and dance resumed,” said Viswanathan.
“Despite the loud music and wild dancing, both the singers and the audience maintained a sense of reverence to the Sanskrit mantras and to Indian gods.”
Asked how they attracted Argentine youth with Sanskrit songs, lead singer Rodrigo Bustos explained: “Yoga Rave is an alternative party. It is a new concept of fun — free from alcohol, smoking and drugs. The body and soul are connected by the mantras, yoga, meditation, music and dance in an unconventional way.”
Bustos and bandmate Nicolas Pucci apparently drew their inspiration from Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living Foundation, said Viswanathan.
