Bhaashaavarga's first cultural program on Mar 29,2012

[Annapurna Krovi]

March 29th was a special day for BhAshAvarga in Cary, as we all arrived at Ravi Mahodaya and Savitha Bhagini's house for the very first Cultural Program by the BhAshAvarga. 

  You could sense the excitement inside the house,  even as you were parking the car in the driveway. 

The brightly hued  floral garlands on either side of the entrance door played their part in  extending a warm welcome to the guests and promised a great evening ahead. 

Once inside, you just stepped into a festive atmosphere, and the decor was classy, relaxing, calm and so Savithaesque!

All the furniture was pushed to the side walls, beautiful area rugs were laid out for everyone to sit down, and space for the stage was set up. A small statue of Goddess Saraswathi was placed in the middle of the stage.  

Young girls wearing  the traditional "Pattu Paavadai" and jewelry were busily walking around, a few people huddled together in groups  busy with their last minute preparations for their skits, and Savitha Bhagini's kitchen island was full of mouth-watering and delicious food - various types of rice, dal, several vegetables, desserts, kheer - and it was decided to start the evening program with dinner. As we all gathered round the huge kitchen island, we  chanted the prayer as follows : 

 Brahmarpanam ( Food Prayer)

Brahmarpanam Brahmahavir 
Brahmaagnou Brahmanahutham
Brahmaiva Thena Ganthavyam
Brahma Karma Samadhinaha 

Aham Vaishvanaro Bhoothva
Praninam Dehamasrithaha 
Pranapana SamayukthaH 
Pachamyanam Chaturvidham 

After a sumptuous dinner, we all started the cultural programs with the opening prayer " Om sahanaavavatu" , followed by the popular song, "surasa subodha". The best part was that Chandra Mahodaya's four year old son sang the whole song entirely from memory, and that was simply amazing! 

I will try to give a brief synopsis of the four group presentations we had that evening - each with a different theme. With such little time to practice, all the groups have done an awesome job! 

Savitha Bhagini's group was the first to present their program. Their theme was focused on Culture. 

The participants were : Savitha Bhagini, Sudha Bhagini, Janardhan Mahodaya, Nivedita and Shreya .

They had an interesting theme - a weekly Sanskrit TV program that gets broadcast once every Thursday morning. Savitha Bhagini was the Compere of that show, and she started with 'Subhodayam" and explained to the audience that the objective of that weekly program was SamrakshaNam and Samvardhanam of Sanskrit. It was followed by a Nrityaanjali to Goddess Saraswathi by our youngest students -  Shreya and Nivedita. The girls enthralled us with their dance. The next program was an interview of Pandit Janardhan mahodaya by Sudha Bhagini. Pandit Janardhan Mahodaya was dressed in traditional South Indian clothes, all complete with an Uttareeyam, and a Zari turban, and he lived in that role.Sudha bhagini did an awesome job as the interviewer - very relaxed and very genuine.  During the interview, he humbly mentioned that he is still a student and learns something new every day, though he has been studying Sanskrit for over 20 years. His message to the audience  - Sanskrit is not a difficult language ; study it, enjoy it, and take care of our rich heritage. 

Savitha Bhagini, who was the MC concluded the TV program by asking us to tune in next Thursday, same time. 

A great start to the evening, and we all gave a huge round of applause as the participants came on stage. 

The next group was led by Preethi bhagini and Ajay Mahodaya, and their theme, you could say, was musical. The participants were : 

Ajay, Preethi, Anjan Mahodaya, Chandra Mahodaya's entire family - his wife, daughter Kanchana and his  4 year old son. 

Ajay Mahodaya played the role of Narada : he had a cardboard Veena as well, completing the picture of Narada,  and Preethi bhagini played the role of Bhagawan - crown, Trishul - all the works. 

Anjan Mahodaya, Chandra mahodaya and his family played the role of 5 fingers (AngushTah, Tarjani, MadhyamA, AnaamikA and KanishTha) who bicker among themselves as to who is the greatest one among them, with the exception of the little finger played very well by Chandra Mahodayas' four year old son. 

All of them approach Bhagawaan, and the Lord chides them for being so arrogant, and declares that the little finger is dearest to HIM, since the little finger is closest when hands are joined in Namaskaar, and the little finger faces the Lord. 

The best part of their skit was the concluding song that they all sang together, set to the tune of aham prabhaathe utthisThAmi,  written by Ajay Mahodaya. 

That was simply phenomenal! 

The next group was led by Ravi Mahodaya and the participants were : 

Ravi Mahodaya, Prasad Mahodaya, Bipin Mahodaya, Nirupama Bhagini, Lakshmi Bhagini and Shreya. 

Their play had all the elements of a Masala movie - hero, villain, suspense, kidnap, heroic rescue - it had everything! 

It started with James Bond music playing in the background and Ravi Mahodaya announcing,  " Soonya Soonya Sapta". 

The first scene shows a conversation between grandfather, Bipin Mahodaya and grand-daughter, Lakshmi Bhagini, who wants to go to Apple store at 8pm to buy the latest Ipad that was just released. Bipin Mahodaya starts to reminisce how things were when he was young, and how apple cost less than a dollar, and how come the Apple now costs more than $300! He goes on and on as to how things were when he was young, and he keeps doing that throughout the play, whether or not anyone is interested to know about his childhood. 

In the next scene, it is late in the night ; Nirupama Bhagini (grandmother) and Bipin Mahodaya (grandfather) are shown waiting for Lakshmi Bhagini who has not returned yet from the store; they are sleepy and worried;  her brother Prasad Mahodaya comes home and inquires about Lakshmi Bhagini. Shortly thereafter, he receives a phone call from  Ravi Mahodaya, who has kidnapped Lakshmi bhagini, and he threatens of dire consequences, if the brother does not give him ransom money. He passes the phone to Lakshmi Bhagini, who cleverly communicates her whereabouts to her James Bond brother. The brother valiantly rescues the sister after fighting with the villain, and it is a happy ending, with Bipin Mahodaya reminiscing about his childhood days ...... 

The actors lived in their roles, and they all got a huge round of applause from all of us. 

The last group was led by Phani Mahodaya. Their theme was intellectual. 

The participants were : 

Phani Mahodaya, Ramesh Mahodaya and Srinivas Mahodaya

Their play took place during the time of Sri Krishnadevaraya who had Tenali Ramakrishna, an Aasthana Vidwan, court-poet known for his wit and wisdom, and often came to the King's rescue in court matters. 

Ramesh Mahodaya played the role of the King, Phani Mahodaya played the role of Tenali Ramakrishna and Srinivas Mahodaya was the Amatya (Minister).

The scene starts with a typical day in the King's Court, and three brothers come to the King, asking for justice. Their father passed away leaving them with 17 elephants and asked them to divide the elephants as follows: 1/2 to the eldest son, 1/3 to the middle son and 1/9th to the youngest. The King also wonders how to divide the elephants, and Tenali Ramakrishna easily solves the dilemma by borrowing the King's elephant for a few minutes - does the math ; divides the 17 elephants as per the dying father's wishes and returns the King's elephant back to the King. 

So, the themes varied from cultural, musical, popular and intellectual. All the participants were creative, and presented excellent skits within such a short time. The enthusiasm of the group is awesome!  

The photos and videos would be coming soon! 

All in all, it  was a great evening, and we are already planning for a June program like this.  

  

  

--
Annapurna Krovi
704, Garden Square Lane 
Morrisville, NC 27560
919-650-1386 (home)

[Naresh Cuntoor]

Wow! abhinandanAni!



Naresh
vaak.wordpress.com