Anchored for Gen. Manoj Naravane, 28th Chief of the Army Staff | Rotary Club of Bombay
- Nikita Rana
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Some moments don’t belong to one room — they belong to a country. At Polaris, hosted by The Rotary Club of Bombay, I had the honour of anchoring for General Manoj Naravane, the 28th Chief of the Army Staff.
The evening wasn’t structured around applause. It was framed by quiet pride — civic leadership meeting national service, with a level of reverence that corporate events rarely demand. My role wasn’t to entertain. It was to structure a stage worthy of the uniform on it.
General Naravane’s stillness filled the room
When a military leader enters a civic auditorium, the rules of engagement change. There’s no need for volume — just gravity. General Naravane opened by saying, “Service is continuity, not sacrifice.” It landed in full silence. The Rotary audience — industrialists, policymakers, philanthropists — paused, not to respond, but to register the weight of that line. No backchannel chatter. No glance breaks. Just pure attention. That’s when a female anchor in mumbai doesn’t hold the spotlight — she defers to it. My role: to create the bandwidth of silence that lets weighty words land.
A civic salute, unplanned but perfect
Some gestures are rehearsed. This one wasn’t. Midway, as I introduced the salute signs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, General Naravane gave a subtle nod — not a command, but permission. I responded with, “May I invite the room to rise and join me in an Army salute.” No cue cards. No fanfare. The room rose in unison. Over 400 hands lifted. It wasn’t performance. It was participation. And that’s what an anchor for events must read — when the room’s emotion is waiting to be voiced. The moment wasn’t mine. But I was trusted to shape it.
Translating silence into insight
Asked about operational intensity, General Naravane simply said: “We remain where we’re needed.” It wasn’t bravado. It was posture. And while the room processed it, I offered back: “Sometimes, presence is the greatest act of leadership.” No reply. But he smiled — barely. That’s what a civic audience needed to hear: interpretation, not repetition. A compere in mumbai doesn’t just bridge gaps between segments — she bridges meaning. That line didn’t just stay on stage. It echoed in follow-up conversations, audience reflections, and post-event coverage. That’s what earns a signature role.
Thank You
With heartfelt thanks to the leadership of The Rotary Club of Bombay:Mr. Sandip Agarwalla, Ms. Malini Agarwalla, Mr. Vineet Bhatnagar, Mr. Rajiv P., Mr. Paritosh Rungta, Mr. Vijay Jatia, Mr. Ashish Vaid, Mr. Framroze Mehta, Mr. Rupen Doshi, Ms. Sree Nandy, and Ms. Meenakshi Khosla.
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