Rehearsing one last time on stage before the big day, trying on the clothes meant for the
dance, making sure the decorations are perfect, drawing and redrawing the rangoli and later
filling up with colors - Some of the things we did till 2:30 in the night before the mega
event aka India Day. Its a day to celebrate the richness of our country and to enlighten
each other about our diverse culture. With less than 4 hrs of sleep, I had to get ready on
the 21st oct to showcase my 'talent'. The first task was of course to deck up in a beautiful
Mysore Silk Saree (my bro's gift :) ) and then rush to collect the accessories. Here it
meant a weird looking crown and a waist belt, which would transform me into Goddess
Bhuvaneshwari :) All this for the procession which started from the main gate of the
academy. We, from the state had Kittur Rani Chennamma (Rajeshwari looking gorgeous) and
Mysore Maharaja (Sharat at his royal best),the lovely Koorgi couple(Preeth and Karthick
looking too cute),Noth Karnataka flavor(with Deepa in her beautiful Ilkal saree) and the
rest(Vijay,Santosh,Arun,Manju n Manju,Aravind,Fakeerappa,Sandesh) in traditional attire with the Mysore peta looked splendid on the route. The other states also put up a great show, the Kerala gang with their traditional drum display, the Tamils with all their grandeur and the
telugu gang with Tirupati Timmappa leading the pack were the highlights from the southern
gang. Of course, the traditional attires of the West , North and East zones too were on
grand display and it almost became a contest of who pips whom in being loud as we neared the end of the procession route.Then we proceeded to have breakfast - our Holige being the main attraction along with the Kashmiri tea,whose flavor still remains with me.We also had
poha,vada pav,dhokla and some sweet whose name I cannot recall. At about 11:30, the cultural program of the West and South zone started. A splendid start by the Maharashtra gang showcasing the varied practices of their state(Prasad with his brilliant choreography was
the star) was followed by our kamsale dance. The coordination was good, the atmosphere was
electric and the response of the crowd was encouraging. I was particularly impressed by the
performance of our group considering few of the boys were dancing for the first time! The
best compliment we received was when one trainee who had the performance in the evening said that it was a fully professional display which had raised the bar for the future
performances :) The next programmes included a lavani performance (Isha looking extremely
pretty and dancing prettier), some energetic Rajasthani performances like the ghoomro dance,
Maharashtrian folk performances, garbha and dandia from Gujarat, a tribal dance from
Chattisgarh (don't ask why this state figured in the west zone !), a skit showcasing the
culture of Andhra,a medley of classical and folk dances from Tamil Nadu, a Skit on the
history of Kerala and their martial arts display and finally the dollu kunita performed by
the karnataka boys. Amazing display considering they has just 2 days to get the steps
right.Full marks for pulling that one off in style.
The lunch was hosted by North and East zone. The items I remember are Litti Choka(Bihar),
Sarso da saag, roti , sandesh- all tasted good and meat preparation from Kashmir, Fish from
Assam and other stuff which I heard were extremely good. The food was served on the floor
and was a welcome break from the routine self service of the mess.The evening cultural
program was presented by the North and the East zone. The 2 Bhutanese probationers gave us an insight into their culture and this was followed by a video showcasing the North Eastern
culture. Some tribal dances followed and wrapped it up with an awesome performance of Bihu. The Jharkhand gang showed us a skit on the life of Birsa Munda. More than the story, the dances which they performed with meticulous uncoordinated style made for a hearty laugh. A Haryanvi dance and later a skit was funny.The best dance was Bhangra as expected. There were a couple of group songs and also a mushaira of which I couldn't make much sense. The Ladakhi dance was the most awaited by our gang because we all wanted to see Vimarsh dancing and they did not disappoint us.
Dinner was from the South and the West Zone and we made sure there was a sumptuous treat. Some delicious items included Bisibele baat,Mysore Pak, brinjal ennegai (Karnataka), Biryani,gongura chutney(AP), Bajra roti,Srikhand(Maharashtra),Muruku, sambar (TN), Appam and a sweet dish (Kerala) and dishes from Gujarat whose name I'm unable to remember. We served the guests on plantain leaves and were satisfied at the response.
The day thus ended on a high note. A truly exceptional part of the foundation course in
which I had super fun. Also, a great occasion to sensitize our self about the huge cultural
variation and differences our country offers and how to open our minds to accept the same.
I'm really glad I could be a part of such a well intentioned event :)
dance, making sure the decorations are perfect, drawing and redrawing the rangoli and later
filling up with colors - Some of the things we did till 2:30 in the night before the mega
event aka India Day. Its a day to celebrate the richness of our country and to enlighten
each other about our diverse culture. With less than 4 hrs of sleep, I had to get ready on
the 21st oct to showcase my 'talent'. The first task was of course to deck up in a beautiful
Mysore Silk Saree (my bro's gift :) ) and then rush to collect the accessories. Here it
meant a weird looking crown and a waist belt, which would transform me into Goddess
Bhuvaneshwari :) All this for the procession which started from the main gate of the
academy. We, from the state had Kittur Rani Chennamma (Rajeshwari looking gorgeous) and
Mysore Maharaja (Sharat at his royal best),the lovely Koorgi couple(Preeth and Karthick
looking too cute),Noth Karnataka flavor(with Deepa in her beautiful Ilkal saree) and the
rest(Vijay,Santosh,Arun,Manju n Manju,Aravind,Fakeerappa,Sandesh) in traditional attire with the Mysore peta looked splendid on the route. The other states also put up a great show, the Kerala gang with their traditional drum display, the Tamils with all their grandeur and the
telugu gang with Tirupati Timmappa leading the pack were the highlights from the southern
gang. Of course, the traditional attires of the West , North and East zones too were on
grand display and it almost became a contest of who pips whom in being loud as we neared the end of the procession route.Then we proceeded to have breakfast - our Holige being the main attraction along with the Kashmiri tea,whose flavor still remains with me.We also had
poha,vada pav,dhokla and some sweet whose name I cannot recall. At about 11:30, the cultural program of the West and South zone started. A splendid start by the Maharashtra gang showcasing the varied practices of their state(Prasad with his brilliant choreography was
the star) was followed by our kamsale dance. The coordination was good, the atmosphere was
electric and the response of the crowd was encouraging. I was particularly impressed by the
performance of our group considering few of the boys were dancing for the first time! The
best compliment we received was when one trainee who had the performance in the evening said that it was a fully professional display which had raised the bar for the future
performances :) The next programmes included a lavani performance (Isha looking extremely
pretty and dancing prettier), some energetic Rajasthani performances like the ghoomro dance,
Maharashtrian folk performances, garbha and dandia from Gujarat, a tribal dance from
Chattisgarh (don't ask why this state figured in the west zone !), a skit showcasing the
culture of Andhra,a medley of classical and folk dances from Tamil Nadu, a Skit on the
history of Kerala and their martial arts display and finally the dollu kunita performed by
the karnataka boys. Amazing display considering they has just 2 days to get the steps
right.Full marks for pulling that one off in style.
The lunch was hosted by North and East zone. The items I remember are Litti Choka(Bihar),
Sarso da saag, roti , sandesh- all tasted good and meat preparation from Kashmir, Fish from
Assam and other stuff which I heard were extremely good. The food was served on the floor
and was a welcome break from the routine self service of the mess.The evening cultural
program was presented by the North and the East zone. The 2 Bhutanese probationers gave us an insight into their culture and this was followed by a video showcasing the North Eastern
culture. Some tribal dances followed and wrapped it up with an awesome performance of Bihu. The Jharkhand gang showed us a skit on the life of Birsa Munda. More than the story, the dances which they performed with meticulous uncoordinated style made for a hearty laugh. A Haryanvi dance and later a skit was funny.The best dance was Bhangra as expected. There were a couple of group songs and also a mushaira of which I couldn't make much sense. The Ladakhi dance was the most awaited by our gang because we all wanted to see Vimarsh dancing and they did not disappoint us.
Dinner was from the South and the West Zone and we made sure there was a sumptuous treat. Some delicious items included Bisibele baat,Mysore Pak, brinjal ennegai (Karnataka), Biryani,gongura chutney(AP), Bajra roti,Srikhand(Maharashtra),Muruku, sambar (TN), Appam and a sweet dish (Kerala) and dishes from Gujarat whose name I'm unable to remember. We served the guests on plantain leaves and were satisfied at the response.
The day thus ended on a high note. A truly exceptional part of the foundation course in
which I had super fun. Also, a great occasion to sensitize our self about the huge cultural
variation and differences our country offers and how to open our minds to accept the same.
I'm really glad I could be a part of such a well intentioned event :)
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