Acertain sense of ennui invested in the executive committee this year. After the thrilling excitement of celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav last year; it was generally felt that one should not upstage the grand anniversary celebrations. Just Prasad; no grand lunch. Tone down the décor a tad. No felicitations are needed. Reduce the seating by at least 30%.
No Lunch…! Our local Annapuran, (sic. Gender equality sometimes needs to run in the opposite direction), Sharad Yadav was appalled. “On Me!’. And that was that.
No activities for the kids? squealed Madhu, our school marm and Kittens executive member. So painting, costume and singing competitions were resurrected. Nothing loth, Anita, our Compere demanded prizes for her questionnaire, as well as a shamiana for the stage; so that participants (and compere) did not return home, looking like Othello. Ritu Dhillon, recently elected president of the Inner Wheel Club of Noida had already promised to gift umbrellas to the workers of the Sector. M N Prasad piped in, to provide a variety of juices, perfectly chilled in a makeshift Icebox consisting of a huge plastic drum, slabs of ice and water, innovatively created by Nitesh Jain, our Jugaru EC member.
Things got a bit sticky as our president insisted on hoisting the flag only at 1100m hours, so as not to have people straggling in when they should have been standing at attention. We decided to go ahead with the programme and hoist the flag amid the activities. A highly successful innovation, as the desired attendance and propriety received the approval of our stickler for protocol president.
Thinking beyond the hackneyed Nehru-Gandhi dresses, our costume winner was 7-year-old Divisha, dressed as Savitribai Phule, pioneer of India’s feminist movement, and arguably the first lady teacher. An awe-inspiring 80-second speeches followed, that had us gasping for breath.
High-quality singing performances were given by Arjun Grover and Aadya Walecha. For Arjun’s performance, the military men provided a fitting backdrop. Aadya’s rendering of AI Watan revealed a voice with admirable sweetness and range. The moment of cuteness personified was, however, reserved for 4-year-old Khushvika, who imperiously ordered the audience to stand up, while she rendered a note-perfect Jana-Gana-Mana.
The most popular competition, of course, was the painting competition. With over 20 participants, it was difficult to decide on the winners. The happy faces of the children as they sat together, made me realize, that the real winner was Art- The Happiness Merchant.
The adults, not to be outdone, enjoyed their day in the sun, belting out patriotic numbers with abandon.
A slogan hurling competition, between Romesh Malhautra and his Humnaam Sunny Malhotra was resoundingly echoed by the audience. Where’s the Josh?? Well, right there,
in our Sector!
As the sun moved high in the sky, Indra Dev decided to bless us with a soft breeze and rain clouds – just the right setting for GarmaGaram Chole Bhature/pilau followed by Gulab jamun. The food was just over when Indradevji sent us scurrying home for a well-deserved afternoon siesta.
