Yesterday evening I read this post on the Facebook page of Jet Airways:
“With deep sadness and a heavy heart we would like to share that, effective immediately, we will be suspending all our domestic and international flight operations.” Read further.
The news is heartbreaking because over 22.000 employees are uncertain about their future and thousands of passengers who booked their flights are stranded without further information. I really hope that the situation will some how be improved and that we all don’t need to worry about a non-stop route between Amsterdam to Delhi, Mumbai or Bangelore. I’m grateful to Jet Airways for their support over the last 3 years in so many of our DesiYUP events. A special and warm thank you to the Dutch Jet Airways team Mr. Samir Chada, Mr. Gilbert George and Ms. Monique Voorneman for their contribution to familiarize a large audience in The Netherlands with more meaningful Indian world music.
Jet Airways contributed or sponsored many DesiYUP concerts and took great care of our artists.
Indian World Music Band Maati Baani (5 people) in 2016 for the Holland India Music Festival. The artists had a good journey and therefore they were able to make music on Schiphol Airport.
We could realize the collaboration between Vasuda Sharma and Shammi Pithia in a double bill concert in 2016 during the Holland India Festival, because of the sponsorship of Jet Airways. We memorized this event with the beautiful song ‘Shyaam Bara Chaliya’
It would be highly impossible to even organize our Soul to Soul concert in 2017 with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, without the support and sponsorship of flight tickets for 4 of our artists. This concert was extremely important for the growth and establishment of DesiYUP as a world music organization. In this clip the audience members share their views about the concert.
With the help of Jet Airways we were able to do a solid pre-promotion for Hindi Cinema Classics II. Vasuda Sharma came from India to Holland to record two music video’s: one with Rayen Panday ‘Tumse Milke’ and ‘Tere Naam’ with Prewien Pandohi-Mishre.
This pre-promotion helped us in filling the hall with an audience that saw the great musical chemistry between Navin Kundra and Vasuda Sharma.
Lastly were were able to invite Ultraman, model and actor Milind Soman to the Netherlands for the Gandhi Peace Walk and the Holland India Music Festival n 2018, thanks to the prompt support of Jet Airways.
The Jet Airways team also attended our concerts and events with their business relations to inform them what Indian music is all about.
One again thank you Jet Airways for supporting DesiYUP in your good times. Thank you Mr. Samir Chada, Mr. Gilbert George, Ms. Monique Voorneman and Ms. Rosita Bhagwandin, for giving our artists a great service and our audience the pleasure to listen to Indian music. I will always be grateful for the support that you all have given me and my organization.
Without the Jet Airways direct flights and sharp flight prices it will be challenging for many cultural organizations like DesiYUP to program musicians from India. We hope that a solution will be found soon to overcome this terrible crisis. Our best wishes to the entire Jet Airways staff.
With Love,
Mahesvari