It was Hans Christian Anderson who said When words fail, music speaks. When good music combines with dancing, only sparks can fly. Even though 2011 is not quite over yet, the highlight of this year’s dazzling entertainment events must undoubtedly be the Boston Sargam 2011 Bollywood Music and Dance Competition. If there was any doubt in anybody’s mind that last year’s Boston Sargam was a flash in the pan, then that doubt must have been dispelled within the first 20 minutes of the show on October 15^th. Hosted again in the elegant auditorium of the Littleton Performing Arts Center, with a backdrop of a phenomenal stage setting be-fitting stars the likes of Lata and Asha, a seamless integrated audio-video production with live feed on two large projection screens, the event unfolded to an unforgettable evening of superb entertainment, impressive professionalism and a pre-eminent showcase of spectacular talent in the South Asian performing arts.

The buzz from the previous year had created much anticipation and the crowd had started mounting outside the auditorium from 4pm. Swathi Subramanian, one of the organizers and the emcee, opened the evening with her charm and vibrant stage presence, and introduced the competition categories: Solo Song (Age: 10-16, 17-27, 28 & up), Solo Dance (Age: 10-15, 16 & up) and Group Dance, along with the two newly added special features: Jhalak Dikhlado (as a prelude to the competition) and PrimeTime Celebrity (at the end).

The Jhalak Dikhlado special feature presented a colorful bouquet of short glimpses of New England’s 10 most popular singers. Ujjwal Parikh with his powerful delivery of Albela Sajan set the stage ablaze, an act that was brilliantly followed with incredible performances by Sankar Gangaikondan, Sudha (Lakshmi) Rao, Shraddha Agrawal, Meena Sundaram, Vasanth Murthy, Raghu Saranathan, Suzana Naik, Anuradha Palakurthi and Smita Jani. The captivated audience was truly enchanted by this fast-paced 30 minutes prelude to the start of the competition.

The Solo Song category (Age 10-16) must have given the judges a hard time but in the end, Sahana Srinivasan was adjudged winner because of her flawless rendition of Dil cheez kia hai aap meri jaan lijiye. Radhika Jangi’s mellifluous delivery of the old classic O Sajana barkha bahar was beautiful and won her second place. Shivaram Karandikar showed extreme talent with his strong delivery of Yeh honsla, whereas Anisha Purohit was engaging with her lively Mind blowing mahiya.

In the Solo Song category (Age 17-27) Nalini Krishnan appeared towering over others, despite the stiff competition. Her rendition of Mere dholna was one of the many highlights of the evening. This freshman at the Berklee School of Music is a natural singer and certain to go places. At the end, Nalini also walked away with the People’s Choice Award Aap ki Awaaz for her performance. Vijay Pemmaraju in his light colored suit drew the audience in with his soulful delivery of Dil kyun yeh mera and was placed second, while, Raagini Jawa in her full throated voice brought a great feel with Ye jahan chhoot jaye..Sajda.

In the Solo Song category (Age 28 & up) Parag Joshi with his sterling performance of Tu ne kia kar dala stole the award, whereas Sucharita Mukherjee’s impressive performance of the old classic Yeh zindagi usi ki hai won her the second place. Lakshmi Ramesh’s rendition of the classic title song from Satyam shivam sundaram was outstanding and well liked by the audience, whereas, Amal Jawa’s feel in Ayi holi hai was beautifully captured. Pushpa Karna’s presentation with her wonderful grand children was sweet, while Sarat Veppachedu’s in his full voice singing Sach mere yaar hai ended the category in an entertaining manner.

In the Dance Solos (Age 16 & up), Sharayu Mahale was simply spectacular with her swift, light-footed, highly energetic, effortless moves and was awarded the winner’s title, while Pooja Jhaveri’s expressions and her Aadaab arz hai, performed clad in pink and white were truly impressive to grant her second place. Anumita Das’s astonishingly expressive Jai Ho in a semi-classical style was very creative, whereas Yashoda Das’s medley performance with Kahe ched in the Kathak style was also delightful.

The Solo Dance category (Age 10-15) seemed to be one of the most vibrant components of the entire show. I am sure that the judges had a hard time selecting the winners, but select they did. Shrvani Balaji with her spell-bounding performance in her white apsara-like outfit on San Sanana from Ashoka left the audience in absolute awe and was selected the winner. Alok Macharla was 2^nd place with his RaOne moves and surely his cool hat & Chamak Challo style will not be easily forgotten. Neha Panke’s performance on Dola re and Mera piya ghar aaya were admiringly expressive, whereas Serena with her uninhibited feminine movements seemed to be a natural on her medley presentation. Raj Parikh with his acrobatic cartwheel entry and free-style performance in Dhoom machale also rocked.

In the Group Dance sequence, Aangikam Dance Academy’s talented group, choreographed by Jasmine Shah, cast a spell with the Panghat theme, with choreography at its creative best and Aangikam’s team was eventually adjudged #1 in the Group dance category. The audience was also treated to a feast of creativity in this category by the seven Dancing Divas clad in red and black flamenco outfits performing with outstanding coordination under choreographer Shikha Bajpai, who was one of Divas herself. They mesmerized the audience with their smooth dance presentation on the song Daaarling ankhon se ankhen char karne do and also were placed a very close second. Mitali Biswas’s Satvikam School of Dance danced on Celtics and brought color to their performance in rich blues and golds, whereas Sharayu Mahale’s Hip Hop Lavni added a new dimension to the marathi style folk dance. Among the group dances was also a non-competing exhibition dance by Boston University’s Chankaar. They opened the second half of the show with a well choreographed, thrilling exhibition piece full of attitude and energy.

Connecting with 2010 by presenting the Solo Song Winners was a smashing idea. Coincidentally, all three winners selected AR Rahman compositions. Equally interesting, if not more, Sivaprakash Nagarajan and Anusha Kulkarni also blended the Hindi and Tamil stanzas version of the songs in their performances. Sivaprakash specially received applause and subsequent compliments for effectively presenting contrasting sentiments of anxiety and loneliness (from the Hindi & Tamil versions respectively) of the song Ae Ajnabi from Dil Se. And Anusha although from a Kannada speaking family was able to deliver both the Hindi and Tamil lyrics of Kehna hi kia from Bombay with ease. Nidhi Tare’s confident delivery of Saawariya from Swades was no less in any way.

The adding of “Little Champs” feature was both colorful and lively. The stage confidence exhibited by Diya Das (4) Rayna Parikh (6) and Sachi Badola (7) was something for the story-books. Subsequently, a YouTube viewing of Sachi’s Mann ke Manjeere presentation (a Subha Mudgal song) from this event drew praises from the original artist Subha Mudgal herself, who was enormously touched and expressed her compliments and encouragement over an email to Sachi. The special feature this year of highlighting ‘Exceptionally Talented Children’ was an exceptional concept as well.

The evening cruised along towards closure only to experience the presentation of PrimeTime Celebrity Javid Raza, a worthwhile wait. Javid Raza well known for his Rafi renditions, blended old Rafi gems like Pukarta chala hoon mein, Ek haseen sham ko, Suhani raat, Khoya khoya chand, Kisi na kisi se with relatively new hits like Suraj hua madham, Kal ho na ho and Tumse milke dil ka. He captivated the audience and received roaring applauses for his short high-impact performance. It was an absolute treat to hear an artiste par excellence, presenting hits effortlessly in his melodious voice.

The highly entertaining and engaging evening with the extravagant sound, light and audio-visuals was brought to its end by the announcement of the winners. Both the Song and Dance Judges conducted the exercise with professionalism and integrity. The panel of eminent judges included: Song Judges - Anuradha Palakurthi, Rama Karedla, Christy Mathew and Dance Judges - Mamta Patel, Shaku Patel, Mouli Pal.

While events like this always leverage on team-work and no single person holds the magic wand for its success, Dr. Anil Chawla and Swathi Subramanian clearly deserve special credit for their role in planning, executing and holding together an event of this magnitude. Boston looks forward to the Sargam of 2012.

Photos courtesy: Almas Zaidi, Jharna Madan, Chirag Parikh

Please check out www.bostonsargam.org for further upcoming details.

|