Coimbatore: The love for Coimbatore is evident in the eyes of Gulomjanova Robiyakhon, a class 3 student from Uzbekistan, who travelled all the way from Tashkent to India for conducting musical concerts. "Coimbatore is very beautiful, green and clean. I love the people here," she said with a wide smile.
Robiyakhon was here with her family band Havas Guruhe to perform at the Hindustan College of Arts and Science. The city welcomed the family with a huge turn out on Saturday.
Meenakshi Sai, the brain behind the concert, had met the wonderful family during her inter-continent drive to Uzbekistan. "They don't speak English or any Indian language fluently, but sing in almost every Indian language. That's why I decided to bring them to my home city," she said.
True to her words, when 24 year old Gulomjonov Khakhraman sang Nenje Ezhu, an AR Rahman number, the crowd went silent, awed by the beauty of his voice. Some people even shook a leg with him when he sang Malayalam hit Jimikki Kammal and the title song of Bahubali, in Telugu.
Matluba, dancer, translator and the family's choreographer, who spoke fluent Hindi, explained that it was Ermatov Rustamjon Gulomjonovich's dream to sing and dance to the tunes of Bollywood numbers. "I was a painter and a poet. My wife and I loved Bollywood films and songs and decided to teach our children, son Khakhraman and daughter Shaknoza songs and dance. I am glad they had the talent," he told TOI.
"They learned all songs and remembered the lyrics despite the language barrier. They listened to the songs for years to catch the correct pronunciation," he said.
Matluba said that it was her dream to learn Hindi. "I joined the University in Uzbekistan and learnt Hindi. Later, I learnt Kathak, yoga and Bollywood dance as well. I teach Bollywood dance in Uzbekistan and that is how I met this family," Matluba, who accompanied them to concerts and dances, said.
What does the family like the most about India? "Everything. Food, culture, hospitality and most important, Bollywood." said Rustom, who remembers the thrill when he met thespian Rishi Kapoor at a concert in New Delhi recently.
The musical group was in the city to perform for a fund raiser for Small Differences, a city-based NGO.
