Christmas & New Year Celebrations @ Sobha Palladian, 2019.

I had planned to publish this post at 12 noon on the 25th Dec, 12 hours after The King was born. But my grand daughters chose that day to barge in.

At eight years and six and a half years, they have unbounded energy. And very soon I found myself sucked into a vortex of their ‘eat calories - burn calories - eat calories - burn calories' cycles. 

And they had packed in a birthday party and a mall visit as well, into their one day visit here.

So it took me some time to recover and get back my bearings, my senses and my house in order.

Here we go …

Christmas came to Sobha Palladian early again this year.  On 14 Dec, Saturday night we celebrated Christmas!

The Christmas Carol practice started a month before.

And our Block 2 Lobby resounded with wonderful music each evening!

The elders and the young ones all practiced and sang with josh and enthusiasm – initially with more josh than with rhythm and rhyme. And very soon they turned into ‘Pro’ material!

Because Minu is a strict conductor and a perfectionist. And she would make them sing over and over again until she was satisfied.

Preeti and Sony joined Minu is coaching the kids and they picked up much faster than their elders. And the kids just loved their practice sessions.  All 22 of them.

 And they sang in unison, Little Drummer Boy -   a somber number about a poor drummer boy who has no gifts to bring for Baby Jesus other than the music on his drum. And with enthusiasm they sang ‘Pa rum pum pum pum’!

 

And they switch over to an upbeat ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’, reminding children to be on their best behavior for Santa Claus.

You better watch out!

You better not cry
You better not pout, I'm telling you whySanta Claus is comingI mean the big fat man with the long white beardIs coming to town

And they belt out this song, with all their energy, swinging their hands, wriggling their hips and jumping up with their hands high over their heads!

Especially the last part, I mean the big fat man with the long white beard is coming to town.  

And the elders practiced will equal vigor and enthusiasm!!

Our Christmas celebrations was scheduled to start at 6PM. The sky had been cloudy the whole day and we were desperately hoping it would clear in the evening.

But no luck. At 6.07PM sharp, it started drizzling and a light rain followed.

But I was happy to see a few volunteers spring into action, moving the 100 odd chairs to the basement, wiping off the water and arranging them, setting up the lights & sound system and the stage. And very soon we were back in business!

And the program kicked off with Diny welcoming the gathering and announcing the first performance.

And when was the last time you saw Venki in a full pant and a formal shirt?

And a red tie to top it???

And his rich baritone rang out wonderfully 8 times as he sang ‘Five Golden Rings’.

Dwani, an apt name for that wonderful drummer girl!

Dwani sounds like the Sanskrit word Dhvani = Musical sound / tone and Dhun = a musical tune.

And Hari on the keyboards reminded me of Ray Charles, who pioneered the soul music combining Blues and Gospel music!

And these two were an awesome combo. And along with the carol chorus team, the entire SP basement sounded like a symphony performance @ Albert Hall!!!

And when Diny announced that the snack bar was open, I quickly rushed to the counter to grab a mouth full.

Only to get disappointed when I saw the big QR code stuck on the wall besides the rate card!

And with a heavy heart I realized that nothing ever comes for free.

Yes Folks. Nothing comes free!!

Not even the stuff that Dear Santa brings to your home. it’s not absolutely free.

You know why?

Because even the big Santa comes with a small ‘Clause’ !!!

Our Sobha Palladian Santa was just amazing!!

He seemed to have slimmed down a bit since we met him last year. Maybe he could not get hold of a fluffier pillow this time??

But what he lacked in weight and girth, he made it up adequately in his enthusiasm energy and charisma.

And he danced with the kids, hugged some, and scared a few as well.

And he had real fun and enjoyed himself thoroughly along with all of us.

Because he was jovial.

Real Jovial as in Jovial Raj @ 3004!!

And after Santa’s antics, it was time to shake and groove. And the young folks were amazingly talented and put up a wonderful show!

Ahana, Anandita, Suhana, Ealisha and Vaishali choreographed their own dance !!

You make everything feel Bright; Like its Christmas!!

 And then the younger ones came up with a zesty MIA - A hip hop ‘Urban Dance’ by  Zaynah, Akaisha, Ved, Aarna, Gauri, Bibaas.

Action wonderfully captured by Manoj!!

 And finally, the big girls and boys were not to be left behind.

Cheap Thrills. And they danced to this Bouncy and Reggae tinged beat. By the way this song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Pop performance/Group performance.

 And finally Food!! The cultural committee promised good food this time. And food was good!!

A separate fare for the children – Pasta & a variety of sweets!

Feliz Navidad!!

Not sure if you folks had noticed. 

While the front row of singers looked serious, and stood in attention, the back-row singers appeared more relaxed, swinging to the beat and rhythm of the music!

And finally a BIG Thank You and sincere appreciation to all you folks in the cultural committee for pulling off yet another fantastic event!

And to all the participants, on stage and off stage artistes, especially the young kids for making this event so lively.

And of course,as usual, Manoj's photography is Par Excellence!

And, other than this wonderful Christmas event at Sobha Palladian every year, do you know what else I love best during Christmas??

Those endless stream of delicious plum (soft plums soaked in rum) cakes that the good folks in SP give us. And the crunchy cookies and the marzipan and the traditional Indian mithais as well!!

Keep them coming folks.

Even my Diabetes cannot stop me from eating them!!

  

Krish..