Under the glow of white patio lights, amidst a swirl of friendly faces, Indian music playing in the background, over 300 of Toronto’s Jewish and Indian young professionals gathered last Thursday evening at Tryst Nightclub on Peter Street, to experience BINDAAS – an artistic and inspirational event celebrating a fusion of Indian and Jewish music, food, art and dance.

The word, “bindaas”, Hindi slang for “cool” or “it’s all good”, best described this spectacular event, organized and sponsored by The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), SizeDoesntMatter.com and Hillel of Greater Toronto, in partnership with 16 other organizations from Toronto’s Indian and Jewish communities.

Catering to all the senses, guests attending BINDAAS were welcomed with a line-up of savoury Indian and Jewish foods. Vegetarian pakoras, samosas served with spicy mango dip and mini pita falafel sandwiches floated about the room, and an assortment of colourful Indian sweets, honey cake and halva followed. Henna tattoos were a big hit, and it was worth the wait to have one of Vaishali Shah’s (Shagun Henna Designs, vaishalivms@yahoo.com) beautiful creations. The excitement continued with a mesmerizing classical Indian dance performance, called Katahk, performed by husband and wife team, Hemand and Vaishali Panwar of the Panwar Dance Academy.