MyBindi Awards Show

by Jarod Vhale
reprinted with permission from Canada Place

It was an evening of celebration. It was an evening of friends, old and new, interacting and enjoying themselves. It was an evening of progress.

Twenty years ago, this evening, would not have been possible. It could be perceived as a sign of progress. Regardless of the perception, the First Annual MyBindi Awards was Canada's first awards show celebrating South Asian 'talent, spirit and style'.

The aim of the MyBindi Awards Show was to:
* recognize and reward South Asian talent and achievement
* showcase the contribution of the South Asian community within Canada
* inspire South Asian youth to pursue their goals
* instill pride and appreciation of South Asianculture and community

Put on by MyBindi, the evening was a great extension of what their online presence achieves, Canada's preferred source for South Asian arts, entertainment and lifestyle. MyBindi has hosted and sponsored several successful social, business and cultural programs throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

The turnout for the evening was surprising considering this is the first one. Historically, events like these have not had great turnouts in their first couple of years. For example, the Montreal Jazz Festival had to cancel their first year due to lack of funding. However, for this event, the community came out in droves to support the recognition and achievement of their own. This is not surprising though because of the following that MyBindi has managed to garner over the years with their smaller social events. The professionalism of the event was a welcome surprise and the actual awards ceremony went off without a hitch.

In what turned into a standing room only affair, Karen Johnson, a reporter with the television station CFMT, hosted the evening. Awards were given out in categories that included Favorite Media Personality, Best DJ, Most Committed Community Organization, Most Talented Musician and Special Achievement recognition.

Some of the highlights of the evening were:

* the singing of 'O Canada' by Toronto-based singer/songwriter Usra Leedham. Her sultry voice and obvious passion for her music was apparent during this rendition of the Country's National Anthem

* an electrifying performance by Toronto-based dancer/choreographer and now singer, Bhagashree Vaze. Having performed as a dancer all around the world, she is now branching out and has plans to release an album in the next few months. The energy of the performance was definitely felt by everyone that evening.

* the 'presenter of the evening' award goes to the duo of actor/comedian Jazz Mann and MuchMusic host Nadine Ramkisson. Jazz Mann had the audience (and his co-presenter Nadine) in a constant state of laughter. What made it even funnier was the way that Nadine managed to reel Jazz Mann in to get the award presented.

* the launch of the new cover for 'Suhaag' magazine, (the first and only source for Weddings, Fashions and Lifestyle for the South AsianCommunity), by the stunning Miss Canada Universe, Neelam Verma, exemplified how far the South Asian community has come and where it is going.

* by far the most touching point of the evening was the acceptance speech by Zahra Dhanani. In the program, she is billed as a "DJ, Radio Personality, Lawyer, Activist, Volunteer...Fighter". After this acceptance speech, there is another title required, "Storyteller". Receiving a thunderous ovation when she approached the podium to receive the award, she managed to capture the attention of the whole crowd while telling her tale of the piano conductor and the little girl. After hearing this story, there is little doubt that this 1st ever MyBindi special achievement award went to the right recipient. The bar has been raised for future recipients.

Congratulations to MyBindi. The evening was a resounding success due to the professionalism of the awards ceremony, the overwhelming support by the community by turning out and participating, and by the award winners themselves. It was a great night for MyBindi, it was a great night for the award recipients, and it was a great night for the South Asian community.