Christmas & New Year Celebrations @ Sobha Palladian !!

Very early in December we sighted the bright shining star on the western horizon.

And on 15^th Dec. the Magis (the three wise Kings) dropped in at Sobha Palladian on their way to Bethlehem.

And all of us celebrated a wonderful Christmas and New Year party that evening!

50+  families, 210 adults and  children, all enthusiastically converged near the fountain area to celebrate the birth of the King and usher in the New Year 2019 well in advance! 

  There was food, games, dances, carols and more Christmas carols and more food winding up a night of festivities! 

While the scheduled start was 5.30PM  for the games and the children’s sales counters, it took a lot of persuasion and some desperate WhatsApp messages to finally get all the folks, to come out of their homes and head for the stalls that were set up by the enthusiastic kids. Some had been working o their stalls since 2.30 PM unfolding the steel tables and trying to manage the thin table covers against the swift breeze. And they were successful only after all their food stuffs and games were finally placed on the table to hold down the table covers in place and prevent them from flying over.

A variety of stall and enthusiastic kids – all trying to get your attention and the money in your wallet!

 And they succeeded pretty much. Everything got sold out finally! Even the 14 small potted plants!

Squares of joy is a group with 9 members who come together during every Sobha Palladian Event. They bake delicious food (cakes and muffins) and sell them for the cause of charity. This Christmas party they made Rs. 7,500/-  and in future, hope to collect more money for the cause.

Fresh baked muffins and raw mango and watermelon salad were the first to get stocked out.  Snowman treats (authentic south Indian Maa-laadu based ones) were great.  If I were to believe that all these treats were actually prepared by these kids, then i can see some real talents and i can also predict some excellent future chefs!!

But the sad truth is that many of these budding prodigies will ultimately land up doing an engineering course or commerce degree and with an MBA they will all land up in an IT company or a Bank Job!  

Entrepreneurship? Good thought!

 A career in a kitchen or a restaurant?  Joking?? No way!!

And some smart kids set up games stall. Looked challenging!

And with my limited vision, slow reflexes and moderate IQ level , I did not even dare to try them out.

Coming back to food, this time I went cautious on my calories. Restricted my temptations to just 2 baked potatoes.

But,

My wife did not have the heart to say NO to the kids requesting her to try out the various dishes. So, we both ended up eventually having banana walnut cake, raw mango with watermelon salad, fried peanuts, brown bread with tomatoes and a few sticky sweet stuff!

And finally, the much-anticipated event started.

In marched a troupe of cowboy girls – high heeled riding boots, tight jeans, checked shirts and Stetsons.

And Attitudes to match!!

Seriously, all of you folks must audition for ‘Jane Got A Gun’ Sequel.

And the 2002 American Idol Kelly Clarkson blasted the air with ‘Run Run Rudolph’ !!

And WOW, they all danced – the country western line-dance!

With absolute grace and abandon!

And it brought back age-old memories of the time ( 1979!! )  I spent in a small Western town called Colorado Springs and went to the Colorado State Fair and Rodeo meet at Pueblo!

Did anyone wonder what would happen if these ladies had real horses. a pair of Colt Dragon Revolvers and Winchesters and   lariats.

Methinks I would head for the hills and pan for gold.

Back to SP..

Frosty the snowman

Was a jolly happy soul.

Wonderful performance by tiny tots in snowman suits.

Rudolph the ref-nosed Reindeer.

Had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it..

You would even say it glows.

And there we so many Rudolph here!

And their big shiny red nose popped off every now and then !!

And they all spiritedly sang and danced, while their moms ran around picking up the red noses and plugging them back.

The kids sing so well and with so much of enthusiasm and energy levels that we should seriously consider starting a SP Choir Group. It will be more sustainable in the long run.

  

And then the Sobha Palladian Carol group took over the evening with some wonderful rendering of ‘Do you hear what I hear, and a medley of short songs and finally ending with Jingle Bells . It was wonderful to hear them again.

 Sing we joyous all together

Fa-la-la-la-la,

La-la,la,la!

And the grand finale before dinner!

Santa danced his way through the mob of excited children. And he seemed to be having much more fun than the kids!!

And the kids shrieked with joy throughout his performance and his gift giving antics.  

He gave away 60+ gifts and each one of them with his personal touch!! 

I am sure Saint Nicholas would be very proud of him and blessed him well.

Santa was just wonderful and jovial (Yes, Jovial)

And my recommendation to the MC is that we give him the Santa contract for the next 5 years with a ‘Clause’– He must put on additional 100 pounds weight and increase his girth to 50 inches at least.

And finally, Dinner was simple and sumptuous. Pasta, Noodles and fried rice with gravy and tarts for dessert.  A perfect meal for a person on a strict calorie count!!

And while this evening lasted for just under 4 hours, can you imagine the long hours and hours spent by the folks organizing this event and the performers practicing for their show??

First, a big round of applause to all the ladies in Palladian. You folk are par-excellence. From traditional Garba dance to wild western line dance, from Patriotic Salil Chowdhury song to Christmas carols, you just rock!! Thank you for the wonderful show!!

Sincere appreciation and acknowledgement to ‘behind the screen silent heroes’ – folks who meticulously chose those carols that can be sung best by this group, the patient folks who taught and tutored the kids and the adult to sing cogently and in rhythm and the choreographers for the dance and for all the other nitty gritty details that goes in to putting up such a fantastic show !

And a big THANK YOU to the MC team, and volunteers and to the kids for executing another memorable event!!

And wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year 2019!!

And I am already looking forward to the Republic Day next Year.

Krish..