Onam celebrations 2012
nandkumar
Dear Members,
This was the type of celebration we were all looking forward to all these years since Dakksh came into being. We had an absolutely enjoyable time with whole-hearted participation from all present.
We had two little boys, Niranjan, son of Suneethi & Ravi ably assisted by Siddharth, son of Reghu & Daya, enthusiastically initiating the making of the “pookalam”. They did a mighty fine job, with a little help from others, as can be seen from the pictures. (Ravi has already posted quite a few, others may please do so).
The proceedings started with a prayer by Usha Prakash followed by address by President Vijayan Punnathur on Onam. Dr Sujata Sankranti talked about how Onam used to be celebrated during her childhood in Mavelikara.
Since Onam celebrations would remain incomplete without “Kaikottikali,” the womenfolk pitched in with a lively performance that last nearly ten minutes.
The participants were Maya Saju, Maya Mukundan, Suneethi Ravi, Daya Raghu, Sindhu Sanal and Sudha Nandakumar. They had presented the show after rehearsals held over the past several weekends. Thank you, ladies, for devoting so much of time and energy to make it a success.
The children’s programmes began with a dance by little Uma, daughter of Maya and Saju followed by Akhila, daughter of Daya & Raghu. Then came a Kathak style performance by Damini, daughter of Usha & Prakash. All of you did extremely well, thank you.
Those who regaled us with a variety of songs were Shweta (Mohanan and Nandaja’s daughter), Amokh (son of Archana and Balagopal), Ashwin (son of Sanal and Sindhu) and Niranjan (son of Ravi and Suneethi). That’s quite a lot of warblers and nightingales, for sure. Very nice performance, all of you.
Next item was a contest on caption writing in Malayalam. All of us were divided into two teams, depending on which side of the room we were sitting/standing. Each team were given 3 minutes to write the caption. The President’s team emerged winner.
Another contest to work out Malayalam film titles from approximate English translations led to much merriment. This was a contest in which anyone could raise their hand on the lines of fastest finger first of Crorepati fame and thus get selected to give the answer.
Then again, our Onam celebrations can never be complete without “Onapattukal” led by patron C S Rajan, with remarkable gusto. In the pre-lunch session, it was “Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam” and a spirited rendering of the famous “Vanchi Pattu” (boat song) “Kuttanadan Punchayile.”
But the programme that caused much merriment and saw keen competition was “Vadam Vali”, a tug of war between girls and boys and then the men and women. The girls scored an “upset” victory. Anyway, the boys ended up a little downcast. No problem, better luck next time.
The same trend was noted in the men-women contest. The men’s team containing many stalwarts like Raghu and Saju proved no match for the formidable women’s team led by Usha and others. The first was won by the women, the second by men and the last, a tie by women. So, now you know who is the “power behind the throne”.
Prizes were distributed to all the participants. Young Achievers (School Level Academic Performance) Xth – Mohit Varma, son of Mukundan and Maya and XIIth std. Arnav, son of Rajagopal and Archana were also felicitated on the occasion.
On that merry note, let us call it a day and meet again for Vishu 2013.
nandkumar
Nandakumarettan