For the first time LNS sangam organised a live music troupe for the Deepavali celebrations which was held on the 30th of Oct 2016.
Thanks to the members for their attendance at this year’s Deepavali function. It was one of the largest gathering of Nagarathars in the UK, all age groups throughly enjoyed the event.
The LNS Deepavali event 2016 was held with great gala in Manor Park Hall, Malden Road, New Malden, KT2 7AZ. Members started arriving from 12 noon onwards and the event lasted until 8 pm. Diwali function this year hosted a live music event, which was a first for LNS, the committee continued the first attempt following the away summer trip which was also a first for LNS, and to put LNS committee’s fear at bay, LNS members came forward resoundingly and with one of the largest Nagarathar participation of 218 (144 adults, 56 children and 18 infants) from all across the UK, the event was indeed a grand success.
While waiting for the lunch from Anjappar to arrive, the event was initiated with Sivagami Achi lighting the vilakku followed by special prayer song invoking Lord Krishna for healthy life sung by the ladies lead by Mrs Valli Lakshmanan. This was followed by welcome speech by the President, Mr S.Ganesh Kumar and chocolate cutting to celebrate Mrs Nachu and Mr Raj’s son, Master Hari’s birthday.
The wait for food was worth the time as the members had delicious lunch comprising gobi and chicken 65, mutton and vegetarian briyani, chettinadu chicken and ennai katrikai curries, paratha, vegetable kurma, potato masala, curd rice and gulab jamun. Various refreshments accompanied the lunch.
After having sumptuous meal, the members were entertained to a beautiful dance by Ms Valikannu Ramaswamy and the introduction of new members took place. The highlight of the event, the performance of Nisari music troupe began with the lead singer, Mr Rajesh singing the carnatic based song, Sankara. LNS was fortunate to have Mr Sridhar, a famous drummer from Chennai who won Limca Book of Records for 24 hours non-stop drumming, as visiting member of the troupe. Mr Rajesh’s beautiful singing was matched by melodious female voice by Mrs Vani. The pair sang many songs from 80s to recent songs with medley of songs, mostly Tamil but some Hindi songs too. Mr Sridhar also entertained the audience with his solo drumming and another member of the Nisari troupe showcased wonderful mimicry talent. There was also a song by the talented daughter of Mr Rajesh who sang the song Ooru Sanam Thongiruchu that received wide applause.
Members took a break around 5.30 pm for tea with samosa, vadai and cakes. There were delicious brownies too made by Mrs Valli Arumugam. The kids had fun next with the night sky being made colourful by bright fireworks display in the park next to the hall; the little ones too had fun with sparklers. Members returned to the hall for a final hour of music performance. The event ended around 7.30 pm with all the members helping to clean and tidy up the hall and leaving by 8 pm.
The support of corporate sponsors, Lebara (£300) and Union Bank (£250) and our members as below is greatly appreciated as otherwise, it would have been difficult to manage the finances for the event (special thanks to Mr Annamalai, for the sponsorship even in absentia):
- Mrs Meena and Mr Annamalai Adaikappan, £51
- Mrs Nachu and Mr Manikandan Ramanathan, £51 (to celebrate the birth of their son)
- Mrs Lakshmi and Mr Lakshmanan Alagappan, £50
- Mrs Valli and Mr P. Arumugam, £50
- Mrs Nithyakalyani and Dr R. Palaniappan, £50
- Mrs Sivagami and Mr S. Ganesh Kumar, £50
- Mrs Kalaivani and Mr Karthik, £40
- Mrs Meena and Mr Siva Sockalingam, £30
- Mrs Vasantha and Mr N. Shanmugam, £30
In addition to the sponsors, the committee is grateful to the help of many members: Mrs Valli Lakshmanan for bringing swami picture and pooja items; Mrs Nithya Palaniappan for compiling the song list; Mrs Sivakami Ganesh for finding the music troupe; Mr M. Muthiah for capturing the beautiful moments with his SLR camera; Mr Raja Alagappan and Mr T. Karuppiah for collecting the money.
Many members also came forward voluntarily to help in serving food, decorations, firework’s marshalling, hall set-up and cleaning (in time for handover!) and the committee is indeed grateful for their kind help – it would have impossible to run such a big event without these kind support.
Overall, it was a successful event and the committee is happy that their and their families’ efforts over the past few months have been fruitful noting the positive feedback from the attendees.
The next LNS event will be to celebrate Pillayar Nombu on 7th January, 2017 from 5-10 pm. Venue and other details will be announced closer to the time.
LNS Committee 2016-17