A Grade 1 student from Sullivan Elementary is still walking on air after sharing the stage with Punjabi popstar Diljit Dosanjh at his historic Vancouver concert two weeks ago.
Six-year-old Aanakh Bhuller was at the sold-out concert with his family when the singer spotted him in the crowd. After being called onstage, the Surrey student was introduced to the crowd of more than 50,000 and invited to dance along to the performance.
Breaking into a bhangra routine, Aanakh danced to Dosanjh’s hit song, “Vibe,” with the crowd roaring in the background.
“It felt good, I do bhangra practice, so it wasn’t hard,” said Aanakh. “And he’s my favourite singer.”
The show, which took place April 27 at BC Place, was the first time a Punjabi performer has headlined the venue. For the next few days, Aanakh’s performance was the talk of the school, having been featured on Global BC and CBC News.
“They all said they watched me on the news,” said Aanakh.
Proud father Barinder Bhuller said Aanakh has been a fan of Dosanjh since 2022 when the family saw him perform at Rogers Arena.
“After that concert, Aanakh asked my parents to tie a turban on him because he wanted to be just like Diljit,” said Barinder. “I tweeted that out at the time and Diljit retweeted it. Ever since then, Aanakh had been manifesting this moment.”
For Barinder, seeing his son be a part of the historic show was an emotional experience.
“As a first-generation Canadian, we never got to see our cultural icons and performers in mainstream stadiums,” he said. “To see how Aanakh idolizes Diljit and then to see him become a part of this show has been overwhelming.”
As a thank you, Dosanjh gave Aanakh the unique skeleton jacket he had been wearing on stage – a treasure Aanakh said he will wear to his future bhangra lessons.
“It’s my favourite,” he said.
