Subcontinental Drift (SubDrift), Boston chapter arranged a wonderful open mic program on the coldest day of the Winter for the South Asian community of New England area to show case their artistic hidden talents on Friday, December 16, 2016, at East Meets West (EMW) Bookstore, a community space in Central Square, Cambridge, MA from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. The program was very enthusiastically organized by the well-known Boston based Indian classical musicians and art lovers: Mr. Michael Dwan Singh and Mr. Aditya Nochur as MC of the night. They work tirelessly to patronize South Asian music, art, culture, and science in the US and beyond.

The uniqueness of SubDrift platform is that all types of performances and experience levels are welcomed here, from dance to song, comedy to classical singing, and anything beyond and in between, from first-timers to amateurs to seasoned veterans of the stage. "If you have talents don't be afraid to share it!" - that is the slogan of this Sub Drift movement.

Mr. Aditya Nochur with a big smile on his face kicked off the open mic and welcomed amiably all the participants and audience of the floor to their monthly 'Friday Open Mic' event. He made some announcements and requests to the participants to be more enthusiastic in supporting the community events and contributing to their progress in the area. "Through our regular open mics and other programs, we create space for powerful artistic expressions and collaborations" he said very humbly. He also thanked EMW Bookstore for offering their lovely venue decorated with some unique art pieces free for this event.

Jjay Shishupal sang and recited a poem for the audience and grabbed their attention with his holiday blinking light flitted cap. Ananya Jain recited his two love poems for the first time ever and entertained the audience with his lovely poems. Neena Wahi recited a heart touching poem in Hindi that expressed the feelings of women about the physical violence and rape. Abbas Rattani performed a mix of stand-up and political commentary and made the audience laugh constantly during his performance. Simone Labony Labbance recited a holiday-inspired poem to support our lovely space. Shilpa Srivastava read Rich Orloff's "Invisible Woman" poem with her unique style. Srilatha Rajamani of Laughing Liberally entertained audience with her experiences in daily life. How the English language and slangs make the new immigrants to wonder and perplexed about the meanings slangs and how they are used for certain races to mean something.

Maitreya Das sang John Denver's two songs that are very popular in West Bengal because of their melody and description of nature. Youngsters in Bengal sing these songs while hiking and bonfire events  - he said. He took all the audience from West Virginia to West Bengal with his melodious voice and sounds of his magic Guitar. Pankaj shared some of his limericks and poems with the audience. Srinath Gaddam closed out the open mic with comedy vibes and entertained with his funny acting and changing of voice to suite the characters. Many other participants show cased their talents and entertained the audience.

"I had a great time. Good music, poetry, and comedy" - said one of the new comers to the event. People seemed inspired by the broad mix of talents because it inspires the new comers to do something on the floor next time and bring out their hidden talent.

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