Boston area saw the second staging of the play “Mirchi Cola”. Back by popular demand, the play written by New England resident Preetesh Shrivastava, was staged at the John O’Keefe Technical Institute to sold-out crowds and outstanding appreciation by the 500+ audience members.

The event was anchored by Rohini Pola, who coordinated the event with seamless grace. The evening started with singer Meena Sundaram welcoming all guests with her lilting “aiye meherbaan”, followed by inauguration of the event by the family of the famous and one and only Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who has continued to amuse and inspire generations of performers. The symbolic lamp was lit by Priyanka and Nikhil, grandchildren of Shri Mukherjee, in the presence of son and daughter-in-law Pratip and Swati Mukherjee.

Following the lamp-lighting, the president of Hindi Manch, Preetesh Shrivastava introduced the audience to the concept behind organization New England Hindi Manch, mentioning the opportunities and platform that such an organization provides to Indians living overseas and their children. Weaving his speech with his signature wit and comedy, he delighted the audience and set the mood for the comedy play.

The play was directed by veteran director Shri Mohan Dali, and was anchored by Jawed Wahid (sound) and Anish Khanzode (sound score). The detailed, resplendent stage was designed and set-up by a team of dedicated and creative team including Shriniwas Sane, Parag Sane, Vikas Rana, Satish Palayan,Vijay Ejenkar, Dilip Pai, G Srikanth And Smriti Narula. With such support behind them, the artistes effortlessly blended into their characters, and mesmerized the audience with their performance. They kept the audience laughing and at times, at the edge of their seats as the taut play unfolded and the suspense played out. It was a great testimony to the director Shri Mohan Dali, and talent in the New England area to see this group of ordinary people turned into seasoned actors for the night as they delivered line after line without missing a beat. The artistes included Ajay Jain, Alok Asoor, Swati Sane, Ajay Jaisingh, Sanjay Jain, Gopika Narula, Anupam Wali, Rahul Jain, Sridhar Pola, Hetal Joshi, Chirag Parikh and Pratibha Krishnamurthy. Besides the on-stage arrangements, the off-stage arrangements were also flawless. From managing kids’ zone, to hosting, ushering, ticketing etc., everything was excellently managed by the Hindi Manch team, whose efforts made the event a great success.

The efforts of the Hindi Manch team working together were recognized and appreciated by the audience who showered praise on the event. The team continues to be humbled by the appreciation being received and revel in comments like “Awesome evening, comedy was very entertaining and the drama was very engaging until the very end. Congratulations Hindi Manch team, Great Work!”,     â€œWhat an awesome evening. Jokes were just too good. Looking forward to your next show!!!!” and “Congratulations to the entire Hindi Manch team! We had an awesome time last time laughing and enjoying the absolutely hilarious & interesting Mirchi Cola! Good job guyz :)”…

Through this event and other past events, including the children’s program, “Baal-Yuva-Manch” (organized on March 22nd, 2013), the Hindi Manch organization has carried on its tradition of serving the Hindi language and culture through social platforms. The organization has proved that the quality of execution of its programs sets a higher standard each time, and the organization both surprises and exceeds audience’s expectations. Hindi Manch has announced its next program, a stand-up comedy night, “Ek haseen sham… hansne hasaane ke naam” for the 27th of July, 2013, which is sure to delight and add to the warmth of summer in New England.

|