How could we even begin to gauge the complexity and the success of hosting an event that spanned 7 hours, featured more than 50 programs and had the entire Littleton High School theatre at full capacity the whole time? Not a mere program list that featured routine, dry desi song after song, this event, however, was a strikingly vibrant community performance, synergistically and cleverly drawing on the Pongal theme, the variety of our backgrounds, the enthusiasm of the little performers and the wisdom of the elder Tamil generations passing on the cultural batons to the Americanized young ones that still yearned to connect to the Tamil Thaai, the Tamil Mother, albeit through their own contemporary symbolisms.

Opening with trenchant comments on Pongal rituals and with a melodious, traditional nod to the Thai, the program had a deceptively soft kickoff. But soon, the New England Tamil Sangam (NETS) community could no longer rein in the creative passions and with the variety and depth of the participants, the afternoon drifted into the night, deftly pulled along by a creative depth and variety that left lingering melodies, momentous dance moves and pithy dialogues ringing in your thoughts for hours.   From the most classical Bharatnatyam dance to modern, hip hop medleys to full-throated Bharathiar songs sung by eager kids, from a competitive ‘Vanjikottai Valiban’ of the 1950’s to the latest yet to be released ‘Kolaveri’ fusion music  brought a particularly Tamil spice to the festive mix that was as sumptuous as the dinner served that night by ‘Pongal Restaurant’. 

Yes, there were the usual bevy of parents cueing the kids from the sidelines and the front rows, yes, it seemed like there were more tripods than performers on two legs and more camcorders than phones that day but the real story was in the eager, upbeat young faces that wanted to impress. The countless hours of rehearsal showed up in the impeccably delivered skit on Ramayana that re-told the epic through five-minute contemporary filmy hits. Or How it showed in the cleverly scripted and immaculately enacted skit of the IT worker in present day US, who starts with a headache, is triaged and lab-tested and MRI-scanned before a $50K fee gets him a diagnosis for "stress' and who then seeks out the god man and experts in vastu sastra, desperate for relief.  Yes, these were contrived but the irony of scamming god men and inept $-minded doctors were not lost on the audience that related to the two societies. We couldn’t have scripted a better device to highlight peculiar Tamil accents and culture juxtaposed against demanding modern life in the US.

It was a pleasure to watch the little ones enthusiastically dance and sing in return for applause and cheering from the crowd. The entire community joined together to listen to traditional carnatic music, watch magic shows, unique ‘koothu’ dances, the clever plays portraying Tenali Rama. But the greatest treat of all was to be a part of the roaring, colorful crowd and see the festivities unfold one by one. To see the three generations of our amazing community gathered there and thoroughly basking in the glow of the cultural showcase was something else. Not every community event can boast gathering people of completely unique backgrounds and different personalities and uniting them as one. That day, we expressed our backgrounds and showed our individual talents. We, as a community, were celebrating our Pongal Vizhaa together, thanking the Lord for our cultural harvest.

Website:  www.netamilsangam.com

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