Kannada Sangha (Singapore) celebrated "Kannada Deepa" a grand cultural evening to mark Kannada Rajyotsava and Deepavali, the festival of lights on Saturday 15th Novemeber 2008 at the GIIS, Queenstown Campus. The event started off with the traditional lighting of the lamp by Shataavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh and Sri. Vijaya Raghavendra accompanied by Shri B. K. Ramadas, President, Kananda Sangha (Singapore). The Sangha\'s ladies choir rendered an evergreen melody "Hachchevu Kanndada Deepa", followed by an equally melodious song "Kannada Nadina…." directed by Nada Nidhi Smt. Bhagya Murthy. Shri. Vijayakumar welcomed the performing artistes, distinguished guests and the enthusiastic audience gathered and gave an introduction to the guests Shataavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh an Engineer who has mastered fifteen different languages, Ms. Shakuntala Devi a World renowned Mathematician.

A swinging group dance by the children to the tunes of "Chinnari Mutha" which brought Sri. Vijaya Raghavendra swinging onto the stage set the tone for an entertaining evening. The dance was choreographed by Smt. Srilakshmi. After this, the winners of "Image Cup 2008" Sangha\'s annual Singara Badminton tournament received their trophies from Shri Rajan, Director, Image International(S) Pte. Ltd., who had graciously sponsored the entire tournament.

Then began the evening\'s main attraction whereby Shri Vijaya Raghavendra entertained the kannadigas by his songs. The introduction of The State and National award winner for his Kannada Movies Chinnari Muttha and Ninagagi brought on loud cheers by the audience. As he rendered a medley of songs from his own movies, the performance drew spontaneous response from the audience.

This year\'s "Singara Puraskara" award winners had the privilege of receiving the awards from Ms. Shakuntala Devi, World renowned Mathematician. Kumari. Dhyuti Ramadas and Kumara Aditya Kurtakoti won the award for academic excellence at the PSLE examinations and extra curricular activities. Shri. Dharmichand Mulewa was recognized for his contributions on the Cricket Field at National and International level.

This year, Kannada Sangha (Singapore) went a step further by honouring two eminent members with the "Singara Aajeeva Sadhana Puraskara" for their Life Long Achievements and contributions to the Society. Prof. A. N. Rao was recognized for his contributions in the field of Academics and Research, in addition to his yeoman service to the Singapore Indian community. Nada Nidhi Smt. Bhagya Murthy received the award for her contributions in the field of Fine Arts, especially Carnatic Music and for being a role model and guiding light for many budding singers in Singapore. Kannada Sangha (Singapore) is proud and honoured to have such eminent personalities among its members. Smt. Rashmi Udayakumar presented the achievements of the "Singara Puraskara" winners to the audience.

"Singara" is an in house publication of Kannada Sangha (Singapore) to showcase the members\' literary talents and record the achievements of the Sangha. The book is a storehouse of information and is a useful reference tool. The eighth edition of "Singara" includes more than 70 articles including stories, write-ups, poems, essays, humour, interviews and many more by Singannadigas, their family members and overseas writers. The magazine was released by Shataavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh, a well known composer of Classical Music and Yakshagana expert credited with reviving the ancient art form of "Avadhana". He distributed trophies to the winners of various literary competitions held in conjunction with the release of "Singara". Smt. Archana Prakash explained the experience in making of "Singara 2008" and thanked the contributions from all writers and editotial committee.The members of the editorial committee, led by Sri. Vasanth Kulkarni and Smt. Archana Prakash were presented commemorative mementos on the occasion.

Shataavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh addressed the gathering and gave a glimpse of the art form "Avadhana". He showed his mastery of the languages by composing poems using words thrown up from the audience. He peppered his presentation with humorous interludes.

The audience was treated to grand solo Bharatanatyam performance by Miss. Varna Arun to the strains of the melody "Baagilanu Teredu".

Ms. Shakuntala Devi thrilled the audience with a show of her mathematical skills by instantly identifying the day of the week for the many Dates of Birth presented by the audience. She capped her presentation by rattling off the dates from year 2009 for any particular day of the week be it January to December or vice versa.

To the delight of his admirers, and the numbers had grown after his first performance of the evening, Shri Vijaya Raghavendra reappeared on stage to render more timeless melodies of the Kannada Screen. A humorous musical skit by the members based on the timeless lullaby "Naayi Mari Naayi Mari" was well received by the audience, more than 300 in number.

Dr. Prakash Hande brought the function to a close with an expression of heartfelt thanks to all the assembled guests, members and their families, and all the well wishers and sponsors without whose active support, this function could not have achieved this level of success. Smt. Vishalakshi Vaidya was the emcee for the evening and was ably supported by Smt. Rashmi Udayakumar and Smt. Archana Prakash. Kannada Sangha distributed Singara Magazine and sweets to the audience – on this festive occasion.

The programme was sponsored by Premier Properties, Mysore (India) and co-sponsored by HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, Singapore), Image International (S) Pte. Ltd, Spice of India, Singapore and the Singapore chapter of Divine Park, Saligrama, India. Kannada Sangha thanks all the sponsors.


nimma
Kannada Sangha (Singapore)