Anand Ashram- Joy and Happiness

Continuing from my previous post on Anand Ashram, with each passing day the event was coming closer and the excitement meter was soaring. We discussed on the plans on how to go about it, working on the finer details like the events, the prizes, the co-ordination, the gifts and schedule. Well, it was decided that we would start the event with a prayer song, piano by Subashini, song and dance by our group, followed by talent show by our elders, followed by song and dance performances by the kids from Anand Ashram, and if still time remained by some more things.

On Thursday, i and Shyam had tried to sing our songs, but my song didn't turn out very well (i had caught cough and cold). So, i decided to drop my solo performance and go for a group song, we narrowed down on 'Papa kehte hain' from QSQT. Subhashini narrowed down on her songs and practiced it at home. Subashini came up with the idea of two games, Bindi and Pictinary. On Thursday evening i sat with Subashini and finalized the words for Pictionary. Our 'Impromptu' dance was also in doldrums, before Som joined us on Friday. In the mini rehearsal on Friday evening, the group song came up well however our dance was still shaky. Meanwhile, at the Ashram, the kids were in full excitement and were rehearsing songs, dances and skits.

On Saturday we went to the Ashram for a full fledged practice. We practiced along with the kids that afternoon. We were amazed by the effort and the amount of preparation done by the kids.However, life is not always rosy; we met with out first hiccup in the form of the event being re-scheduled from morning to afternoon as there was another event in the morning. I really wonder how Shyam managed to communicate the change in schedule to all the people involved!!

On Sunday, I reached Anand Ashram around 2:15 pm and met Shyam's brother who had come along with his family. Everyone arrived by 2:30 pm, but there was a slight delay in our schedule as there was no electricity!! As soon as electricity came, we kick-started the event with the prayer song which was followed by a piano performance by Subashini.



Shyam came up with his song 'Suttu', followed by our group song, 'Papa Kehte hain' . To check out our song video on Youtube click here . Shyam sang 'Choo Kar mere mann ko..' in a way that touched our hearts and got a lot of applause from the kids, guest and our senior citizens. Then there were lot of song and dance performances by our 'Little Champs'. Mr. Raghavan our 'Elderly Friend' sang a song and recited two of his poems in Tamil, one of which was on life of Software Engineers!!



Our 'Little Champs' came up with two hilarious skits, one was on a music class and another was on a Doctor Clinic scene. Our 'Little Champs' were really very creative and talented.

One of our 'Elder' sang Saraswati Vandana and there another 'Elder' sang few songs from the good old days of Mohammad Rafi and Kishore. All the people present were having a lot of fun and happiness was in the air. Thereafter, there were a couple of songs and dances by our 'Little Champs'.

The best part of the evening came up when we started with the 'Bindi' game. Shyam had drawn the face of a lady on the white board that we had borrowed from the kids activity centre and the person coming on stage was blindfolded and had to put a 'Bindi' on the forehead of the Lady on the White Board. There was lot of excitement and each and every one participated in it fully. I had hosted the game, and to keep the excitement meter soaring, i had told everyone to shout 'I' when i would ask 'Who'. That was the most amazing part of the evening and the participation was so intense that we ran out of time and had to drop the game of Pictionary. Later in the evening we came to know that it was for the first time that such an event was being held there where all the 'Little Champs’, our 'Elders' and the Staff members and their families came together. We ended the evening with the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana..'. It was one of the most exciting and satisfying evening that i had spent in Bangalore in all these two years.


To check out Shyam's Picassa web album for more photos click here