Good things never change. For a person who can’t draw a line straight, and has less than minimum skills at the Finer or domestic arts; the usual painting and singing competitions felt like a drag.
I was scratching my head for more out-of-the-Box Activities, for Independence Day, but was put firmly in my place by School Marm Madhu Menghani. “If it aint broke, don’t fix it” proved to be quite, quite true. The gazebo which was the Venue, was soon packed with kids, earnestly hunched over their drawing sheets, under the materteral gaze of Supervisors Sunila and Preeti. 40 minutes into the competition, I received a frantic call from Mum, asking if her kids could join. There didn’t seem much point, but not wanting to punish the children for the tardiness of their parents, Shubh and Shagun were allowed to come and do their worst. A good decision, as Shubh ran away with first prize for a 10 minute effort. Anvi and Samaira took 2nd and 3rd place. Vedansh, Shagun and Shubh won in the junior category.
The Sheets collected, it was time to welcome our Chief Guest, Mr. Bhasin, and our respected super senior Resident to hoist the flag. Host Sweety made a thought-provoking point as she urged Residents to interact with as many neighbours as they can. One of the unfortunate characteristics of urban development is the loss of sense of Community that has always marked our villages and small towns and is such an integral part of Indian Culture. She espoused the idea of “Parhos Pehle”.After all, as she pointed out, it’s the neighbours who will always reach first, at a time of crisis. She herself is the embodiment of the idea, as her closest friends, Madhu and Shalini are also her neighbours.
A heartfelt rendering of the National Anthem, and a short speech by Mr. Bhasin, was followed by the singing competition, interspersed with a lively quiz on lesser known facts about Independence Day conducted by Host Sweety. New comer, Pranika, pipped our local gayak celebrity Arjun to the top spot with her modulation and range. Divisha came a close third. She impressed with her confidence and controlled use of the mike to accentuate her performance. The Cuteness Moment of the Competition went to Nani Manju Goswami as she anxiously mouthed the lyrics as 5 year old Manasvi made her singing debut. Another Cuteness Moment was missed because Daadi Kiran reached too late to register her grandson Pranit for his portrayal of Subhash Chandra Bose.
A short sharp shower fell just as Ritu Dhillon President, IWC began to distribute the prizes. This lead to a hilarious situation; as adults scampered for shelter while the children stood resolute, absolutely refusing to move till they received their prizes. Winners names were confused, and prizes mixed up. Fortunately, the sky soon cleared and order was restored. Group photos over, the Residents spent quality time with each other, before returning home.
