Hong Kong Diary 2011

Chitra Sivakumar December 2011

Contents
Kannada Sangha Outing in Lei Yue Mun Park...............................................................................................................3 Mahashivaratri Pooja in Hong Kong .............................................................................................................................5 International Jewelry Fair in Hong Kong.......................................................................................................................6 Grand Wedding Reception of Mr. M. Arunachalam's daughter in Hong Kong ............................................................7 Indian Movie wins award for Best Music Score in 5th Asian Film Awards (*)..............................................................9 Holi Celebrations in Hong Kong ..................................................................................................................................11 Hong Kong Indian residents submit petition supporting Anna Hazare's IAC to Consul General of India (*) .............12 Satyanarayana Pooja in Hong Kong............................................................................................................................14 Ganesha Pooja in Hong Kong......................................................................................................................................15 Mathru Pooja in Hong Kong .......................................................................................................................................16 TCA - Dayal International Amateur Badminton Championship 2011 (*) ...................................................................17 Chennai Music Band in Hong Kong for Tamil Cultural Association members ............................................................18 Navarathri Kollu in Hong Kong ...................................................................................................................................20 Saraswathi Pooja in Hong Kong (*).............................................................................................................................21 Skandha Shasti Pooja in Hong Kong ...........................................................................................................................22 Deepavali Celebrations in Hong Kong ........................................................................................................................23 Charity Show by School Students for Hong Kong Cancer Fund..................................................................................24 Indian Badminton Team for Hong Kong Open ...........................................................................................................26 Doubles Gold by Indian-Chinese Pair in Chinese World Badminton Championship (*).............................................27 Kannada Rajyotsava in Hong Kong (*) ........................................................................................................................28 86th Sri Sathya Sai Babas Birthday (*) ........................................................................................................................31 Dayal International Yoga Championships 2011..........................................................................................................32 Arumbugal 2011 .........................................................................................................................................................34 International Night 2011 ............................................................................................................................................37 OJAS A rare brilliance (*) .........................................................................................................................................39

Note : * events were not attended personally.

Kannada Sangha Outing in Lei Yue Mun Park

On February 19th, around 50 people joined for an outing at Lei Yue Mun Holiday Village. The event organised by Kannada Sangha Hong Kong was first of its kind for Kannadigas. Due to rain, the members arrived at the camp site slowly and the activities started at around 4:30pm on 19th afternoon. The plan to play cricket was cancelled due to wet pitch. So as soon as the children entered the camp, they found their interests and started playing. They played Table Tennis, American pool, Air hockey and many other games available in the holiday village. Adults started with indoor archery. There were few Arjunas who can target the bulls-eye. Evening went with Bhel puri time. All men helped mixing the bhel puri and served the children and women. The next session started at 7:30 and went on till 9:00 with variety of games. Men went for a walk around the camp. Dinner was served from Surya Restaurant. Thanks to the committee for arranging good food. The essence of outing started only after 10:30pm. All the members got together in a small room and bingo was the first game to play. People in a particular corner won all the prizes. They were lucky to choose the best vasthu corner of the room. Next was the singing and chatting session. This was the longest session during the camp since it went on till 5:30am in the morning. No one thought about sleep and enjoyed the whole session singing various songs and chatting. In the morning after a short knap, everyone assembled for breakfast. Toasted bread and jam with coffee and tea were arranged by the group members themselves. After this session, again the group got energized. One set of people went for rope climbing. They enjoyed the activity as they were imitating a monkey going from one place to another through the rope. One group went for cycling. There were cycle cars which helped the members to travel in groups. Some children below three years of age also enjoyed riding the toy cycle. At around 12:00am on 20th, all the members got together to leave the camp site. Each ones mind was filled with memorable day night entertainments that they enjoyed. Their satisfaction reflected in every ones face and words saying that this must become a regular event in the coming years.

Mahashivaratri Pooja in Hong Kong

On March 2rd, Mahashivratri pooja was done in Tung Chung at the Sadashiv Temple. More than 150 devotees came to pray. Pooja was done all through the day to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. Arathi was done by each one of them. Offerings like milk, ghee, yoghart, honey, sugarcane juice, rice, nuts etc were given to the Panchamukha Snake. Most of the Tung Chung residents were happy to do this pooja since this is the first time such arrangement was made in this area.

International Jewelry Fair in Hong Kong

One of the World's biggest 11th International Spring Jewellery Fair was held from March 4th to March 8th this year in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Jewelleries from world over were on display under one roof. Lot of Indian jewels were on display this year attracting the visitors.

Competitions and Seminars were held to showcase the present trend, designs and technologies used in this field. Fine jewelleries made of diamonds, gems, pearls and rubies were on display in Hall of Fame, Hall of Extraordinary, Designer Galleria, Antique & Vintage jewellery Galleria, Hall of Jade jewellery, Hall of Nature, Exclusive Showroom and Hall of Time.

It is a fair that attracts both the exhibitors and visitors to know the fashion and trend in various countries.

Grand Wedding Reception of Mr. M. Arunachalam's daughter in Hong Kong

On February 27th, Mr. M. Arunachalam, President of Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, Pravasi Award Winner and a well known Businessman and Industrialist of Hong Kong, gave a grand Wedding Reception to his daughter Ms. Umaiyal (called Uma) and his son-in-law Dr. Vivek Ramasamy in Conrad, Grand Ball room. The grandeur was accompanied by the visit of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Honourable Mr. Donald Tsung to wish the couple.

More than 500 people attended the ceremony to wish the couple.Many well established Businessmen of Hong Kong and friends attended the reception with their family.

Indian Movie wins award for Best Music Score in 5th Asian Film Awards (*)
March 21st is the day for Asian Films in Hong Kong. The 5th Asian Film Awards ceremony was held in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Peepli Live, the Hindi Movie by Producer Amir Khan nominated for four disciplines Best Movie, Best New Comer, Best Editing and Best Music Score won the award for Music Score. The entire Indian Ocean team was on stage to receive the prestigious Asian Award.

The Lifetime Achievement award went to Raymond Chow who introduced Bruce Lee to the Hong Kong movie industry and to the world.

Winners at the fifth Asian Film Awards announced Monday in Hong Kong: BEST FILM UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Thailand) BEST DIRECTOR LEE Chang-dong / POETRY (South Korea) BEST ACTOR HA Jung-woo / THE YELLOW SEA (South Korea) BEST ACTRESS XU Fan / AFTERSHOCK (Mainland China / Hong Kong) BEST NEWCOMER Mark CHAO You-Ting / MONGA (Taiwan) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Sammo HUNG Kam-po / IP MAN 2 (Hong Kong) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS YOON Yeo-jeong / THE HOUSEMAID (South Korea)
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BEST SCREENPLAY LEE Chang-dong / POETRY (South Korea) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER Mark LEE Ping-Bin / NORWEGIAN WOOD (Japan) BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNER HAYASHIDA Yuji / 13 ASSASSINS (Japan) BEST MUSIC SCORE Indian Ocean / PEEPLI LIVE (India) BEST EDITING NAM Na-young / I SAW THE DEVIL (South Korea) BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Phil JONES, ZHANG Yan-ming / AFTERSHOCK (Mainland China/ Hong Kong) BEST COSTUME DESIGNER William CHANG Suk-ping / LET THE BULLETS FLY (Mainland China / Hong Kong) The Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema KIM Dong-ho The Asian Film Award for Lifetime Achievement Award Raymond CHOW The Promotion of Asian Cinema award Fortissimo Films The Asian Film Award for 2010s Top-Grossing Film AFTERSHOCK Award ceremony sponsor, Mot & Chandon, has pledged to generously donate HK$10,000 for each Award category and each of the four special Awards distributed to support the Japan Disaster Relief, with a total of HK$180,000.

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Holi Celebrations in Hong Kong

Holi was celebrated in Hong Kong on March 20th in Tung Chung. There were many individual parties at home, at beach and at public places. Children and adults were happy to play with colors. It was a wonderful festival of colors to all Indians. Many Chinese were eager to know about the festival as there were color play in public places too.

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Hong Kong Indian residents submit petition supporting Anna Hazare's IAC to Consul General of India (*)
Indians living in Hong Kong, were continuously sending the loud and clear message that they are supporting Anna Hazare in seeking a stronger anti-corruption law - the Jan Lokpal Bill, to combat the disease, which has plagued India fora long time now. The message was sent in form of a petition submitted to Indian Embassy here in Hong Kong. The petition handed over to the Consul-General of India, Hong Kong, which is to be forwarded to Shri. K P Singh, Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Mr. Singh is in charge of collecting all public opinion about the Govt. Lokpal Bill. The Indian Community members also sent an additional copy to the PMO, addressed to Shri Manmohan Singh. The petition stated that the signees are categorically against the Govt.'s original draft of the Lokpal Bill and for Team Anna's version, the Jan Lokpalbill. Petition provides the example of ICAC in Hong Kong as a successful implementation of a strong anti-corruption system. Over 1400 signatures were collected by volunteers of IAC-HK positioned at key junctions during evenings of the past5 days. During signature campaign, volunteers discussed the petition with those passing by before seeking signatures. It was interesting to note unanimous support for the movement itself along with broad knowledge of the differences between the various versions of the bills. This petition is also planned to be submitted to UN Office as well with signatures copies because the India recently ratified UNCAC, and thus its Government responsibility to take necessary steps to eradicate corruption by passing a strong anti-corruption law.

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Satyanarayana Pooja in Hong Kong

On September 10th, Kannada Sangha Hong Kong organised Satyanarayana Pooja with three karthas in the Hindu Temple, Happy Valley. More than 100 devotees attended the pooja to get the blessings of the lord. Prasad was distributed to all at the end of the pooja.

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Ganesha Pooja in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Indian residents celebrated the Ganesha pooja with all enthusiasm similar to that of India. On 2nd September, many idols were kept in houses and Ganesha was worshipped for 11 days and on the 11th day, September 11th the festivity began.

People took the Ganesha idol to beaches to submerge in water. People living in Hong Kong Island went to Shek O beach and those living in Tung Chung went to Butterfly Beach. All children and adults enjoyed this occasion together by getting the blessings of Ganesha.

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Mathru Pooja in Hong Kong

On 30th September, Chinmaya Mission Bal Vihar organised Mathru Pooja to thank all mothers during the Navarathri Festival time. The Pooja started with meditation in the presence of Swamini Nishitaji. The Tung Chung Bal Vihar Seniors sang Bhajans. The Tung Chung Bal Vihar Juniors had an interesting question answer session to show who a mother is. Children from Park Island presented bhajans. There were around 36 mothers and children who attended this pooja. With the guidance of Nishitaji, children did patha pooja and did arathi to their mothers with lot of love and affection. Mothers blessed them with immense love. All mothers enjoyed this session to see their children performing the pooja with lot of dedication.

Children distributed prasad to everyone. Chinmaya publication books were on display for sale. Many parents bought them with lot of interest. More than 100 people attended this pooja.

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TCA - Dayal International Amateur Badminton Championship 2011 (*)

Tamil Cultural Association Hong Kong and Dayal Leisure and Cultural Association conducted the first International Amateur Badminton Championship on 1st October 2011 in Hong Kong. Totally 36 teams of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese participated. In Men's category, Hemal Chand & Biren Tappa of Nepal were the winners. Kaman Dhoj & Indira Wanem came second. In Women's category, Varsha & Kavitha were the winners. Farveen & Priya came second. In Teens category, winners were Parth & Mihir. Vaspan Engineer & Urvil came second. The 3.5 feet Shri Govindaswamy memorial cup (the rolling trophy) was given to the Winner Team.

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Prizes were distributed by Mr. Venkataraman, President of Tamil Cultural Association and Mr. Yuvrajah Dayal of Dayal Sports.

Chennai Music Band in Hong Kong for Tamil Cultural Association members
September 24th evening would have been unforgettable evening for many music lovers of Hong Kong. Yes. A Chennai band Yodhaka was in town in KITEC Auditorium, Kowloon Bay, to give a scintillating performance of Sanskrit Slokas in Contemporary Indian music. Subhiksha, Darbuka Siva, Pradeep and Sean performed four songs which gave the audience the feel of ancient music of India. They showed the sweetness of Sankrit language with their own music.

Members of the same band performed the Harmonize Projekt with popular Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English songs in the form of Acapella. Acapella is singing songs with music also done by voices. Mrs. Kalyani Menon and Pradeep headed the team of the band with various nice numbers like Kandu Konden Kandu Konden, Paruvame, Hello Mr. Ethirkatchi, Anda arabic kadalorum and many more songs. There was good support from Harshita, Subhiksha, Sean and Siva through out this band performance.

Last but the best one was the Folk band performance named La Pongal. "E Pulle Karuthamma", "Arisi varuthu", "Oru kodam thanni uththi oru poo poothadu", music composed by themselves made the audience enjoy the village atmosphere. With three guitars and good voices of Sean, Pradeep and Darbuka Siva singing the folk songs gave audience the needed relaxation that they wanted in the stressful world of work. When the Tamil Cultural Association President Mr. Venkatraman told that the Director Mr. Mysskin has come as guest to see the show, everyone was eager to hear him. And the speech by the guest Mr. Mysskin was another memorable event of the evening with a song from Nandhalala. When Mysskin told
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his experience with Illayaraja and the situation of the song, everyone was thrilled to hear him. Then when he started of singing the song "Thalaatu Ketka naanum", everyone appreciated it by listening to it with great interest. The Music director Kay was also present during the occasion.

A mixed crowd of people from various parts of India and even Chinese enjoyed the show at the fullest. Tamil Cultural Association which organised the show took interest in this performance and brought the band to Hong Kong after watching their performances in Youtube.

The entire audience appreciated this group of youngters who has taken music as their life and who performed entirely a different music amidst the famous movie song performances in various channels and big banner programmes. Even though the Harmonize Projekt band performed movie songs, that was also quite different. Mrs. Deepa Sam and Mrs. Sudha Nair introduced the artistes and interviewed the play back singer Mrs. Kalyani Nair.

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Navarathri Kollu in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Tamil residents enjoyed the 10 days of Navarathri by having Kollu at their places and inviting all friends and children. Lalitha Sahasranamam was chanted all 10 days in different houses in the morning and evening. The pooja were attended by lot of people to get the blessings of the God. Each Kollu had different themes. Children enjoyed these days since they were given gifts during this time.

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Saraswathi Pooja in Hong Kong (*)

On October 5th, Hong Kong Tamil residents organised the Saraswathi Pooja in Happy Valley Temple. More than 100 people joined the pooja. They sat in line to do the pooja and chanted the Lalitha Sahasranamam. Everyone prayed to have good health and wealth.

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Skandha Shasti Pooja in Hong Kong

Shasti Pooja was organised in Hong Kong from 27th to 31st of October. On Saturday 29th there was a special pooja. Milk abishekam to Ganesha and Muruga was done by all the devotees who attended the pooja. Sandhanam, panchamritham, vibuthi, panner abishekam were done. Then Kavasam was put on Muruga and Ganesha. All devotees were delighted to see the idol decorated with flowers. Around 200 people attended to get the blessings of Lord Muruga. During the pooja, Skandha Shasti Kavasam, songs from Thirupugazh, kandar anubhuthi and other songs were sung by a group of adults and children. Prasadham made by all the devotees were given at the end of the pooja.

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Deepavali Celebrations in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Indian residents always enjoy celebrating Deepavali by arranging parties and gatherings. People come together, children and adults perform and have nice Indian dinner. They enjoy the party to the fullest extent possible. Once such celebrations was in Tung Chung on November 6th. Group dance, guitar music by Nataniel, Bollywood dance by Ivonne, Bharathanatyam by Gayathri Sivakumar, Classical dance by Subhiksha, Tamil song by Shreya were there to entertain people. There was a pair dance game which was enjoyed by one and all. Lucky draw and Bingo fetched prizes for some. All of them were gifted with a deepam stand. It was an entertaining joyful evening for every one.

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Charity Show by School Students for Hong Kong Cancer Fund

On November 5th, Saturday, two budding dancers of Natya Shikara performed to raise fund for Hong Kong Cancer fund. Sakshi Kaushik and Vaishnavi Kaushik are students of Mrs. Sandhya Gopal, founder of Natya Shikara Dance school of Hong Kong. Both students had already graduated in Bharathanatyam and studying Grade 13 in Shatin College and KG V respectively. The performance was appreciated by all who witnessed it. Both of them displayed their talent and the interest in the art by performing all the dances with full enthusiasm. The programme was dedicated to two Cancer Victims. Mr. Sanjay Vase, businessman and one who is active in charitable organisations and Mrs. Anuradha Prithviraj, sister of Mrs. Sandhya Gopal. The raised fund was presented to the representative from Hong Kong Cancer Fund.

The programme started with the Mallari, that upholds the glory of almighty. In bygone days, this mallari played using Nadaswaram heralded the commencement of the procession of the idols of Gods from the temples to the people far and near. In the same way, the mallari performed by the girls gave a good start off to the entertaining evening for everyone. Kauthuwam sung in praise of Lord Muruga was next feather in their cap of performance. It portrayed the valour of the Lord. Next item took the audience to the marriage of a commoner with the Lord. Andal, the diety of Tamil Nadu sang a song about her dream wedding with Lord Vishnu. The dance for that song was like a play enacting each and every scene of the wedding.

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The session after break gave a feel of Hong Kong music with Hong Kong dancers. The songs composed by Mr. Jairam and Mrs. Sandhya Gopal were very well performed by the dancers. Tamburi Meetidava, Sangeeta samrajya sancharine and Tarana, three songs and the dances messmerised everyone.

Being the final year students having lot to study, they were able to bring out the best out of them for a social cause. Best wishes to both the dancers and the whole group who made it possible.

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Indian Badminton Team for Hong Kong Open

Indian Badminton team had come to Hong Kong to participate in Hong Kong Open Super Series 2011. Ms. Saina Nehwal, the reigning champion of this tournament and Arvind Bhat, the Indian National Singles Champion and other upcoming Indian team members headed by Mr. Gopichand were in Hong Kong. Mr. Gopichand who is former National champion, celebrated his birthday with Mr. Yuva, Badminton player of India in yester years and is a Yoga master, Badminton player and trainer living in Hong Kong for more than five years.

All players had training sessions prior to the tournament.

Saina was happy to give an interview for Hong Kong people. During the short interview, she told that she enjoyed being in Hong Kong and will put all her effort to win it this year also. She was happy to see the strong support for her last year in this tournament even though she was playing against a Chinese player last year. She is very keen in winning this event as she is preparing to enter 2012 London Olympics. She wished all Hong Kong people a happy new year. In this tournament the Indian Team has to get satisfied with some of them going upto the Quarter Finals.

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Doubles Gold by Indian-Chinese Pair in Chinese World Badminton Championship (*)

Doubles pair of Yuva Dayalan and Lee Bun of Hong Kong won the Gold in 30 years above group in 18th Media cup Chinese World Badminton Championship held in Shunde, China on 17th November. They bet Chinese pair Sui Chan Ho and Sun Jun Moo in finals 21-16, 21-17. This tournament is conducted every year and competitors from 25 countries participate under various groups between the age of 25-30, 31-35, 35-40, 41-50, 51-60 ,61-70, 71-80, 81-90. The interesting aspect of this tournament is that lot of former world champions and former international players compete in this. More than 3000 competitors play in 50 badminton courts in one arena for three days.

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Kannada Rajyotsava in Hong Kong (*)

Rajyotsava was celebrated on 20th November in Sheung Wan Civic Center. Awesome Kannada Playback singer Mrs. B.R Chaya along with her husband Mr. Padmapani and Humorist Mr. Yashvant Sirdeshpande were the chief guests for the occasion. There were variety of group songs like Children group, Siva Thandav group and couple dances by the Hong Kong residents. Mrs. B.R Chaya sang solo songs and sang some duet songs with Hong Kong music lovers. Mr. Yashvant made the hall roar with laughter with all his comedy. All the members mingled with each other before the starting of the celebrations with a sumptuous lunch.

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86th Sri Sathya Sai Babas Birthday (*)

On 23rd of November more than 500 people gathered to celebrate 86th Birthday of Sathya Sai Baba. Dance, Drama and Singing by Sai Centre students and volunteers brought the memories of Sathya Sai Baba.

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Dayal International Yoga Championships 2011

Joey Yung bagged a prize money US$ 1500 emerging as Champion of Champions on the final day of three day 1st Dayal International Yoga Champions held in Hong Kong on 4th December. She competed in the Below 18 in Individuals and Junior category in Artistic and Rhythmic competitions. Along with the Championships she won gold in various categories like Rhythmic Pair, Artistic Singles and Artistic Pair winning total cash prize of US$450. Everyone was surprised to see Joey answering questions on Yoga compared to the other two competitions Avinash Kumar and Gaurav Kumar Sharma with details during the Champion of Champions Viva encounter.

She was followed by Avinash Kumar of India bagging the second prize of US$1000 along with Below 18 gold. Charis Cheung of Hong Kong and Gaurav Kumar Sharma of India won gold in 18-25 group for female and male categories, Gloria Suen of USA and Pak Yang Ang of Hong Kong won 25-35 group female and male categories, See Sook Ching (Adeline) of Hong Kong, Kenneth Chan of Hong Kong won in 35-45 category, Lam Mei Ling, Elaine of Hong Kong and Wong Kam Ming of Hong Kong won in 45+ category. They all won US$150 Cash. The Championship was organised by four Yoga masters Yuva Dayalan, Deva, Samrat and Neelesh of India living in Hong Kong and teaching Yoga for more than 5 years. This event is organized by Hong Kong Yoga Federation and Dayal Leisure and Cultural Association in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Sports University in cooperation with Indian Yoga Federation, Singapore Yoga Association, Thailand Yoga Association, Taiwan Yoga Federation, China Yoga Association, Macau Yoga Association, Vietnam Yoga Association. 160 participants from 7 countries, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, USA, Spain competed showcasing their talent in Yoga with competitive Yoga postures which was feast to the eyes of all Yoga learners from various countries. This championship has instilled a seed into the minds of Hong Kong people to compete in Yoga competitions which will give them a chance to learn more and more to have a healthier life.

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Ms. Helen Yeung, CEO, Standard Charted Bank of Hong Kong, Mr. K. Sital of Indian Association of Hong Kong, Ms. Edith Chen, Managing Director, Calvin Klein, Dr. Nerain Majumdhar, Secretary of India Yoga Federation, Dr. T.A Krishnan of AYUSH Yoga were present during the Final ceremony to encourage all the participants and distributed the prizes.

The final ceremony was a cultural events of dances and scintillating demonstrations of the winners. The proceeds of the Championships were given to the organisation called ORBIS that helps people to have better vision.

Workshop on the first day by Dr. T.A Krishnan, Yuva Dayalan, Kumaran, Dileep, Yograj CP attracted more than 40 participants. It was really surprised to see the participants trying out all complicated asanas taught during the workshop by high profile Yoga practitioners. The organisors are now getting to ready for a similar event next year after seeing the lot of enthusiasm from the residents of Hong Kong. More than 1000 people attended this three day event learning Yoga by watching and cheering the participants.
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Arumbugal 2011
Tamil Cultural Association, Hong Kong organised a programme for children Arumbugal on 3rd December in Kai Fong Association Hall, in which more than 80 children performed and more than 400 watched the show. It was an interesting show for one and all. The programme started with Tamizh Thai Vazhthu from 15 children of the Tamil Class organised by YIFC. The next interesting one was the Fancy Dress programme in which 35 children decorated the stage, dressed up in various costumes like Angels, Robots, Sages and Gods, Bees, Army man, Pirate etc.

Natya Shikara students performed three items, Alarippu, Jatheeswaram and Thillana to showcase what they had learnt.

This programme had variety by having the Kudumbath Tamizh, Tamil word game show organised by Chitra Sivakumar and Neeya Naana anchored by Thaika Thalha and Adithya Thirupathi. Stand up comedy by Zuliha Zulfika treated audience with laughter. There were many singers, dancers and instumentalist singing, performing and playing nice songs. Folk items mixed with current trends entertained the audience.

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International Night 2011

International Night, a popular event at YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College was held on December 10th. Hightlight of this year is due to increase in crowd, there were two repeatitive session. More than 1000 people witnessed the events performed by the students. The theme was a Flight going to various places of the world. There were Indian, Nepalese, Chinese, Phillipines, Japanese, Korean, American dances. There was a fashion show that showcased the different types of dresses worn in different countries. This programme is organised to inculcate the cooperation between students belonging to different countries.

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OJAS A rare brilliance (*)

Report by Mrs. Sumathy Ragothaman The Community Service Wing of Kannada Sangha, Hong Kong has been actively involved in providing monetary support to needy children in educational institutions functioning in the backward areas in India. What started out as a small activity in the year 2009, has now grown with the strong ground support of NGOs like ELCIA, SoCare, Vlead and Snehdeep and KSHK is now providing support and monetary assistance for activities like education of deserving and needy children in rural areas, imparting computer training to visually handicapped persons, care of HIV affected children, etc. In order to mobilize funds for their community service activities, KSHK has been organizing cultural events in Hong Kong every year. This year, the fundraising event organized on 17.12.2011 by KSHK was a mega dance show named OJAS- a rare brilliance. A group of artists from Abhinava Dance Company, Bengaluru, comprising of the artistic duo Mr.Rajendra and Ms.Nirupama, Mridula, Priyanka, Neha, Divya, Rohini, Ragini and their technical director Mr. Srinivas had been invited to perform in Hong Kong. Among the donors who supported this event and made it a grand success were Banks, corporate, commercial institutions and individuals. The Consul (Cultural affairs) of India in Hong Kong, Mr. Ajita Kumar presided over the function. The program was graced not only by the Indians living in Hong Kong but many foreigners as well.

Although the basic dance style of Abhinava Dance Company is Kathak, it has crafted a unique style by combining the best of Indian dance forms with the best of western style of dancing, to reach out to a global audience. They have performed across countries in America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Every piece they performed in OJAS was a rare gem. The program began with invocation. The Dance called Lasya Ranjini featured dance movements reflecting the beauty of temple sculptures. It integrated Bharathanatyam style of dance with Karanas found in the ancient book, Natyashastra. The next piece, Sringara Rama depicted the emotion of love of handsome prince Rama and beautiful princess Sita, when their eyes meet in the garden in Mithilapuri. If this dance portrayed the divine love of Lord Rama, the next piece, Rasa-Lila portrayed the naughty love of Lord Krishna, his consort Radha and the Gopis. Here the message was love along with Sharanagathi. The next piece, Ta-Dha, set to Indian Music integrated with Spanish Music, depicted coming together of two great forces to create an extraordinary experience. The next piece Angikam was a dance sequence
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created with basic dance movements portrayed in Ancient Dance books. In the next piece Nigah, the two artists created an expression of love by means of their anklets. The audience too joining in this dialogue created an impression of Universal language of love. The last piece Rhapsody in footwork was a sequence created as a celebration of the highest aspects of life with energy and enthusiasm woven with vibrant rhythm and footwork patterns.

The standing ovation received at the end of the program was proof enough that the event was a grand success. The subtle movements, the colorful costumes, the appropriate lighting arrangements and the unique contemporary music together created a rather unique experience for the audience and led them to a different world altogether. The descriptions provided by Ms. Nirupama at the beginning of each piece was translated and provided in Cantonese by Ms. Theresa from Hong Kong.

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Yet to be covered ICAC Seminar OJAS Sital 80th birthday September Jewelry Fair Food Fair Chitra Pournami Pooja Karthigai Deepam Pooja Puratasi Saturday Pooja Guangzhou Schools Visit

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