NR - 2006

Saraswathi pooja went on well. Vishnu sahasranaamam,
kandhasasthi kavasam and few more shlokas were recited after
which, many of us went to VK redi and had our psetisemite to
open an account and treat us all :D Gen trippings and leg
pullings were happening then. After lunching all of us were
there in audi on dot at 2 for the 1st run through :) Not
much effort actually, as everything did go in a smooth
track. Again after dinnering 2nd runthru at 8. Btw.. Nivy,
thanks for the one card u had sent us wishing good luck for
NR :)

okay..Guess wat? There was PRESIDENT CALL at 9! Heyy..
there was shyamala with 2 cakes, just blowing out of the
water!! Yummy it was..Thanks shyamu :) The run thru
apparently got over before 11 and the non-dancers
volunteered to 'dance', rather we were fictitiously trying
to show off our expertise.. hehehe.. Dance poses from NR
songs.. few of us were actually 'OB' adichifying ;)

The clock struck 11 and we were IN to the enthu session..
C'mon... we shldnt waste our late nite perms u see...
**WINK!!!**'
'Ayaarettu naatukattai' followed by 'thirunalveli alwada'
and some more of Dapaankuthus. We had total fun then.
Meanwhile, Rao entertained us with one kind-a kuchipudi . She had
2 vessels filled with water and danced, by having them over her
head. Perfect balance and silence indeed as we were watching the
dance with wide eyes and mouths openAnd then came the game of Mafias. Our moderator was Niveramesh and we were enjoying the game..
few had their eyes half closed - half open, which was against the rule of the game ;) Well.. that apart, whoever knows this game will appreciate the scene of killing the Oracle -Mr.Manojh.. and luckily the mafias won!
That is it ! It was time for the gals to wind up and so we did the same.

The next day morning was hajaar vetti, just that we learnt a
new song from Padma Mam in the afti. The evening was packed
again with run through(s), wherein sound check was also
done. This was the first time for few of us on stage to
check the sounds and it was really a nice experience. End of
the day everyone of us was tired and throats were also
slightly off scaled. So, the songs were taken down in pitch,
amplitude, frequency and wat not!

aaaaah... The Backdrop:
Lord Natraja's silhouette outshapened by Proff.A.K.Sarkar's
daughter was made from thermocol piece. And luckily
backstage had a blue cloth to fit in the background and the
entire thing came out well.

Moving on to the NR FRONT - CRACKING SHOW!
The programe started at 8:10pm with an instrumental
piece(2veenai+4violins+1mirdhangam). 'Sounds' people could
have actually set up a better scene then. But despite the
fact that Sounds tended towards negativity, 'we the people'
of rag did cast a good show, which is a very obvious one.
Shree Mahaganapathe and Naatakurinji varnam succeeded the
instrument piece. The varnam depicted the story of gajendra
moksham and Dhropathi, which were one among the hit ones of
the night's programe. Next was Ashtapathi, wherein PD's
expressions were well defined and they still stay serene in
our minds. Good work BP and PD :) YO 2004 uh? ;) The crux of the depiction here was Gopika decorates herself, waits for krishna and dreams. Well, I cannot miss out on the tharangam. Shyamu and Rao- kudos to u guys. First time in Rag a kuchipudi dance piece was recited. The jathi by ramana -> indeed tongue twisters and machaan urs was brilliant on stage da :) This piece was followed by shivaashtakam.

This time, Meera bajan was yet another attracting piece and
it gave chance to tabla players too. Story of Mahishaasura
mardhini was depicted in Shree kamalaambike song. The
programe came to and end with thillana in ragam Behag and
mangalam. Pretty good show and it does feel much better to
get a good audience response. All of us pushed to VFAST and
got a belly filling treat from dear psentisemites. Thank you
darlings. Huh! That was a long, extended and successful weekend.