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NEMA Talent show 2006

Sushmitha Rajeevan

The New England Malayalee Association kicked off spring with a bang on April 22, 2006 at its annual Talent Show. The evening opened with a few words by Dr. Omprakash Pillai to commemorate the occasion, and then there was no looking back. Shimna Sameer, Arts Club Secretary, then introduced the masters of ceremony, Silpa Sadhujan and Sushmitha Rajeevan. The show began with an acknowledgement of the great pieces of art displayed at the show. Swapna Valaranikalam and Swathi Pillai proved their talents with the paint brush with their amazing paintings and drawings. India Palace showcased some fabulous art work, and Wajida Syed exhibited her skills with a camera with her photographs

The show was kicked off with a splendid bharathnatyam performance by Shreya Armugham dedicated aptly to Lord Shiva, the Lord of Dance. Then Udaya Rani Umesan, Meena Unni, Jalina George, Sudha Gopal, Tina Chetan, Rama Nair, Jayashree Balasubramaniam, and Raimy Kachipally rocked the hits of last with a medley choreographed by Udaya Rani Umesan and Meena Unni. Veena Pillai and Priya Nayar recreated the magic of the song Jiya Jale from Dil Se with a semi classical fusion dance

As the adults dazzled the audience with their dancing skills, the kids were not far behind. Megna, Savitha & Sanjana performed a fusion dance choreographed by Rama Nair that was the best combination of their life in American and their Indian culture. Pranav Gopakumar then busted some Michael Jackson moves that put even Michael Jackson to shame. The kids continued to amaze the audience as Meghna Nair, Amy Shalab, Shivani Gopal, and Ria Bala performing a dance choreographed by Rama Nair to the song Valla Killukana Pennale from the movie Kanmashi. Afareen Jaleel followed suit with a foot-tapping dance. Cool dudes Pranav and Praveen Menon stole many hearts with a dance to the song Kaadhal Yaanai (Remo) from the movie Anyyan. Olivia Varghese displayed her moves by performing a Bharathnatyam dance. Megna and Savitha livened up the song Chinga Masam from the movie Meesa Madhavan to the steps of Rama Nair, and Pooja Armugham and Gowri Vasudevan gave the song Eli re Eli from Yaadein a whole new twist. To cap it off Azmina Ilyas and Arushi performed an amazing dance to the song Pon Kasavu

The vocals of the evening were no less mesmerizing. Amritha Mangalat and her sister, Anjana Mangalat, wowed the crowd with amazing performances of a Padham by Swathi Thirunal in the ragam Anandbairavi, and a bhajan Govindam Amarum in the ragam Hamsa Anandi respectively. Achuth Menon impressed the crowd as he showcased his out-of-this-world vocals with the latest melodies. Dr. Omprakash Pillai honored the memory of Devarajan Mash as he crooned the melodies of the late great. Savio Sunny added to the vocal talents with his notes. Despite her young age, Samyukta Malik demonstrated her great vocal abilities with a great carnatic song. Gokul Ajit strung his vocal chords to the song Kandu Kandu Kandila from the movie Ishtam. But, couple Jalina and Shalabh (who, by the way, does not know a word of Malayalam and learned just for the show) stole the show when they sang Karale from the movie Udanyanu Tharam while their kids Ami, Nikita, Kevin dance to their tunes.

There was no dearth in instrumentals at the show either. The audience first tuned in to Azmina Ilyas’ piano playing skills as she rendered the Rockin' Song, When the Saints Go Marching, Trio, and Largo. Sidhu Sadhujan played a mean violin with two variations of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Pranav Menon too returned to prove his worth on the piano after his rocking dance performance. Muneeba and Wajida Syed exhibited their unique talents in public speaking as they delivered a poem on India and a speech on child labor respectively. Jalina Shalabh came back for more accolades as she closed off the performances of the evening with the song Ishtam Ishtam from the movie Amritham. Sonu Abraham delivered the vote of thanks to end the night.

The crowd left the auditorium mesmerized at the talent they saw. They had the images of the stars of tomorrow in their eyes, and fabulous food from Welcome India Cuisine in their bellies. They requested photographs from Praveen and Shivadasan Nair, the photographers of the show, and chided Anoop Abraham for not singing, as he was busy with the sound and light system. People excited with vows to meet at NEMA’s showing of Dileep’s movie Lion.