Konkanis celebrate Diwali a little differently
The NZ Amchi Association (Konkani speaking people in NZ) tried to do something a bit different at their annual Diwali function this year – they put together a programme of music and dance lasting an hour and a half.
What made the occasion different was that there were virtually no rehearsals (of the whole show) and even the sequence of events at the actual function were made flexible to accommodate the various participants, some of whom were in the middle of their school exams and came in specially to perform.
There was therefore an element of spontaneity about the programme.
There was a children's programme to begin with, put together by Nilima D'Silva that was hugely enjoyed by the kids who took part. This set the mood for the rest of the evening.
The song and dance programme started with a Bharat Natyam dance by Pooja Bhagat, a young schoolgirl who gave an extremely professional performance.
The dance troupe "Ignite" – Ritika and Ajay – gave 3 dances – 2 as a pair and one solo by Ritika. The dance troupe performs to larger audiences throughout Auckland and could be called professional. The performances certainly were so – but some of the members were unable to make it because of the ongoing exams.
Between the dances, there were songs – the first by Sandhya Rao, who is a singer and singing teacher in her own right. Then there was Rhea Maheshwari (who has also taken part in other singing performances, including "Kaun Banega Superstar" recently).
Pooja Bhagat came in once more for a Bollywood dance.
The evening of songs and dance ended with some western music – Vivek Kalambi (singing), Vivek Divekar (guitar) and Sujata Divekar (accompanying song) gave us some James Taylor numbers, followed by Ashok Bhat (singing and guitar), in some cases accompanied by Vivek Divekar and Gautam Naik on the bongo drums as accompaniment. The western music went on as people ate and mingled during and after their meal, which was, as usual, a contributory meal, enjoyed by all.
Ashok Bhat (one of the organisers) said this show would not have been possible without such enthusiastic participation by the participants and the other organisers. He also said that for every person who sang or danced, there was an equal number who had talent but could not (or did not) participate this time for various reasons (including stage fright) – but hoped that if the NZ Amchis were to do this in future again, they would have more participants and ideas.
A lot of ideas (and contribution by way of props, equipment and help with decorations) came from the participants, notably Ritika Badakere, who, along with Ajay Rao, filled in the gaps left by the other 4 members of Ignite.
The NZ Amchi Association (Konkani speaking people in NZ) tried to do something a bit different at their annual Diwali function this year – they put together a programme of music and dance lasting an hour and a half.
What made the occasion different was that there were virtually no rehearsals (of...
The NZ Amchi Association (Konkani speaking people in NZ) tried to do something a bit different at their annual Diwali function this year – they put together a programme of music and dance lasting an hour and a half.
What made the occasion different was that there were virtually no rehearsals (of the whole show) and even the sequence of events at the actual function were made flexible to accommodate the various participants, some of whom were in the middle of their school exams and came in specially to perform.
There was therefore an element of spontaneity about the programme.
There was a children's programme to begin with, put together by Nilima D'Silva that was hugely enjoyed by the kids who took part. This set the mood for the rest of the evening.
The song and dance programme started with a Bharat Natyam dance by Pooja Bhagat, a young schoolgirl who gave an extremely professional performance.
The dance troupe "Ignite" – Ritika and Ajay – gave 3 dances – 2 as a pair and one solo by Ritika. The dance troupe performs to larger audiences throughout Auckland and could be called professional. The performances certainly were so – but some of the members were unable to make it because of the ongoing exams.
Between the dances, there were songs – the first by Sandhya Rao, who is a singer and singing teacher in her own right. Then there was Rhea Maheshwari (who has also taken part in other singing performances, including "Kaun Banega Superstar" recently).
Pooja Bhagat came in once more for a Bollywood dance.
The evening of songs and dance ended with some western music – Vivek Kalambi (singing), Vivek Divekar (guitar) and Sujata Divekar (accompanying song) gave us some James Taylor numbers, followed by Ashok Bhat (singing and guitar), in some cases accompanied by Vivek Divekar and Gautam Naik on the bongo drums as accompaniment. The western music went on as people ate and mingled during and after their meal, which was, as usual, a contributory meal, enjoyed by all.
Ashok Bhat (one of the organisers) said this show would not have been possible without such enthusiastic participation by the participants and the other organisers. He also said that for every person who sang or danced, there was an equal number who had talent but could not (or did not) participate this time for various reasons (including stage fright) – but hoped that if the NZ Amchis were to do this in future again, they would have more participants and ideas.
A lot of ideas (and contribution by way of props, equipment and help with decorations) came from the participants, notably Ritika Badakere, who, along with Ajay Rao, filled in the gaps left by the other 4 members of Ignite.
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