LTCA's Vaibhavam

I've been meaning to write this for a while now but as usual, the procrastrinator in me kicked in. On October 15, we had a Lexington Tamil Cultural Association function here in Lexington. And "Vaibhavam" deserves mention because it was, as all LTCA shows have been, a gala show! Now, what it makes this topic rather interesting is that many of the people involved with LTCA are our fellow bloggers...:) The idea of LTCA as a forum to host Tamil events and provide relief to an otherwise Tamil-parched land was first conceived by RS, Dinesh and Kamal . The first event was "Sangamam", in 2002 (if I remember right). Then we had "Vaanavil" in April 2004, "Thaen Mazhai" in April 2005 and "Vaibhavam" in October 2005.

This time around there were kids' shows, dances (classical and film), orchestra, debate a.k.a. pattimandram and a stand-up comedy show. The kids show was refreshing and fun. It always amazes me how kids are completely nonchalant performers! They say what they think and they do whatever they want. Some are completely natural performers and they steal the show! There were certainly some moments to remember...(Lexingtonites, you know what I am talking about!)..:)

The debate was a big hit and we found some pretty passionate speakers. The topic was "Tamizh cinema paadalkaL, Tamizhai vaLarkkiradha, azhikkiradha". As you can imagine, it generated quite a debate. The Naduvar was PB and he finally decided on behalf of the "vaLarkkiradhu" team..:) Those of you who have a problem with that decision, please ask him. Other blogger personalities who participated are VS and our 'Aasthana' commenter VV. I, personally, didn't get to watch this event because I was off frantically practicing for the music event..:(

We had an excellent Bharatanatyam performance. Then, we had an amazing dance performance for a medley which included "Otha roova tharen..", "Kattu kattu keeraikattu..", title track of Punnagai mannan etc... Kay, DR, D, P, A and gang did an amazing job!

Then we had our music orchestra event. Sujan was our aasthana mridangam vidwan/drummer supported by all-rounder Ashok (man, this guy was everywhere-dance, music, cricket etc...!). We had two excellent keyboardists and a Dholak/tabla player. Singers included yours truly, D, S and Vasu. Sujan wowed audiences with his mridangam for "Maargazhi thingaL" and Vasu with his rendition of "Poo vasam.."! "Andangakka.." had the crowd dancing..:) Dinesh, our drummer last time, was our audio expert. He drove all the way down from NJ to watch our show. Good performances from everyone involved!

Sai Santosh's stand-up comedy bought rip-roaring laughter from the crowd and was a fitting end to a good show.

Apart from the actual show, we had amazing back-stage support for the backdrop, food and a zillion other things that come with organizing an event! I might be boring you with un-ending initials for names but I had to gush about this . I think its special that we had a very talented, well-rounded Tamil program here in Lexington that made us feel at home. Full kudos to organizers Prabhu,Priya, Sundar, Kay, DR! Now that all the excitement is over, I feel like there's a void. I have a thousand other things to do but still, I do miss all those practice sessions, vetti arattais, side-show comedies and general camaraderie..sigh. It is back to reality, school, work and normal life..:(