To attribute the army of salsa dancers taking over the city entirely to Namgyal’s initiative might be foolhardy but his contribution has been substantial. “When I first moved here, people weren’t technically aware or trained. Today, the salsa scene in Mumbai is better than Thailand and almost equivalent to Dubai, though they have more dancers, because they’ve been dancing for like six or seven years,” he says.

Namgyal expects Mumbai to catch up to the level of any European city in the next couple of years. “Salsa is a social form of dance where you meet a lot of people. It’s also an after-work stress buster. Moreover, it’s a lifestyle in itself—it’s fashionable. It changes your personality, makes you cooler and confident,” he says. As if on cue, 26-year-old Raoul D’souza says just that.

The training and development manager moved from the capital to Mumbai after his MBA and found himself without any friends. “When I came to Mumbai, I went to a couple of salsa sessions, asked women for a dance and almost everyone said yes. We exchanged numbers and they became part of my friends circle. I’ve also made business contacts like that,” he says.

Mona Shetty, a 34-year-old voice artist, attended her second Salsa India festival in a row simply because it was possible for her to be exposed to higher levels of teaching and dancing. “You’re able to dance with professionals, which takes your dancing to another level,” she says. She commends Namgyal who attended the festival despite a fractured finger.