"Hasya-Bhava-Lahari"organised by your Kannada Sangha, on Sunday, 10th August 2008 at GIIS Auditorium, Queenstown was a great success thanks to the wholesome entertainment provided by state-award winning singer/actor Smt. M. D. Pallavi and the outstanding stand-up comedian Shri B. Pranesh aka Gangavathi BeeChi. Probably for the first time in the recent past, a Kannada Sangha event attracted more than 500 Kannadigas under one roof in Singapore with the largest number of new member registrations/membership renewal for Kannada Sangha in a single day. Those who were present on that day – Please "ನೀವೇ ಲೆಕ್ಕ ಹಾಕಿ" (neeve lekka haaki)!!
The programme which started at about 5:30 PM was nicely presented by our NexGen artistes Kum. Ananya and Master Satwik Vijay Kashyap. Invocation by little Dhruti Bhatta was followed by a welcome speech by Kannada Sangha President, Shri B.K. Ramadas and an introduction to the artistes by Smt. Vishalakshi Vaidya.
Shri Pranesh opened the evening\'s entertainment with his laughter-inducing but reflective comment about fate of Kannada in our very own Bengaluru... His non-stop jokes on a variety of subjects had the audience laughing with increasing intensity (both by pitch and duration). By the time of the joke - ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಳಮಳ (hoTTeyalli taLamaLa) – all of us were in constant vibration mode (shaking with laughter..!! – for the benefit of non-attendees). Truly, Shri. Pranesh has a special brand of humour… During his performance, he humorously conveyed strong messages on using Kannada at home (inside or outside Karnataka) to educate our children, on cultivating reading habits instead of watching TV and on avoiding the use of mobile phones while driving (to name a few). Hopefully, this experience will provide us the ability to discover humorous incidents during our work/leisure or our busy life in Singapore.
In total contrast but equally fulfilling was the 2nd part of the programme wherein Smt. M.D. Pallavi's melodious voice took us all on a different planet altogether. She entertained us with some rare lyrics written by Da. Ra. Bendre, Kuvempu, DVG, N.S.L. Bhatta and other famous Kannada poets. So professional and beautiful was her rendering that, no one realised that this was the first time she was performing without live orchestra but with only the CD tracks on her laptop as her accompaniment. She kept up a continuous interaction with the audience with introductions as well as quizzes on the compositions she was about to sing. How many of us are familiar with \'\'Raja Rani Roarer Rocket\' song of G.P.Rajarathnam of \'Ratnana PadagaLu\' fame? From Jog, we were taken to Madikeri to march along to the tune of \'bhoomin tabbid mODiddamge\' & the rhythmic beats of Shri. Arun Kumar, a professional percussionist & husband of Smt. Pallavi, who flew in from Bengaluru specifically for this evening. The audience too rose to the challenge of patni-pati duo by accompanying with their hand clapping in rhythm to a fusion music composition of Indian-Western combine. Smt. Pallavi also demonstrated her prowess in Hindustani music with a Bandhish written by Da. Ra. Bendre, yet another rare presentation. Who would have thought that, there were Bandhish written in Kannada??
The beautiful evening was rounded off on a high note with Smt. Pallavi rendering her grandfather Shri A.S.Murthy\'s ranga gIte- tAye karuNeyanu tOru nI.
Kannada Sangha committee had meticulously planned and executed the event. We hope that it was a flawless execution which would be appreciated as it was really like a laughter therapy with some melodious music as supplement. Food arrangements were made from one of the sponsors. An arrangement was also made to keep our active youngsters engaged by playing movies for kids in a separate room (thanks to Dr. Sandhya Kumar). It was a satisfying moment for organisers, performers and the lively audience. Shri Suresha Bhatta, Secretary, Kannada Sangha, presented the vote of thanks. The programme ended at about 9:30 PM due to the tremendous response & repeat requests for encores by the wonderful audience who couldn\'t have enough of their favourite artistes.
This event was in collaboration with Asia Pacific Kannada okkUta and was sponsored by Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd. & co-sponsored by Kamat\'s Restaurant Pte. Ltd., de Ideaz, mindworkz Education Centre Pte. Ltd., and Divine Park, Saligrama / Singapore.
nimma
Kannada Sangha (Singapore)