JEDDAH —Jeddah Tamil Sangam (JTS) recently celebrated India's Republic Day along with ‘Pongal' — the Tamil Harvest Festival at the Indian Consulate premises where a cross section of the Indian community assembled. Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai was the chief guest of the function. Speaking on the occasion, Kidwai said: “Tamil people are very industrious and cooperative people, and it has been my experience, while interacting with them, the Tamil Sangam members have always come forward to help the needy people not only from the Tamil community but the entire Indians.” The JTS organized a variety of cultural events that enthralled the audience and engaged them for hours. Mainly children showed off their dance skills throughout the program. The blind-folded dance choreographed by Sri Vidya, in which the children blind-folded with ribbon on their eyes, was a metaphorical portrayal of the uncertainties and ambiguities of life, while underlining that fear is prevalent in the society today. The dance aimed at reaching out to the younger generation by projecting positive factors that would give them the assurance to have faith and belief in the future, while showing that the positivity trumps the cloak of fear and the unknown. A mime show arranged by Murali displayed the unity of Indians, amid the diversity. The connecting force of the mime brought about the effect of oneness effectively. The national integration dance choreographed by Mythili Murali and Sathya Balasubramanian conveyed the simple message to the audience that India may have many people, many states, many languages and many religions, but still we are all Indians and all Indians are our brothers and sisters. The semi classical dance was choreographed by Pushpa Suresh and Raskhsa Ramkumar turned in a solo performance. The Tamil folk dance choreographed by Santhi Parthiban and Srimath Santhi Subramanian narrates the entire Tamil Culture and Pongal Harvest ceremonies., where the rural communities of the various parts of Tamil Nadu share their joy and abundance in their unique way. Ezhil Maran, who composed the Robo Dance in India Festival 2013, was instrumental this time in introducing another racy number to which his team performed to the fast beat movements of A.R. Rahman, who completely conquered the audience with drum beats. Finally Pushpa Suresh showed the skillful art of dancing the Bharatha Natyam through her girls. The southern classical dance form stresses in telling the story through facial expressions, hand movements and rhythmic feet. The dance tempo, which indicates the time and pace of the drama being enacted, can be followed in the various form of foot work, precise hand gestures, key facial expression. The various poses sculpted in the dance too reveals its own emotive story. The Bharatha Natyam by the girls was virtually a poetry in motion as the audience were left entranced. Iniavan, the famous Tamil Orator from Tamil Nadu, was the moderator in the pattimandram (talk show) and he conducted the show held by the JTS on the occasion with aplomb. The speakers evoked good response from the crowd with their succinct oration. The talk show had the audience glued to their seats. Earlier Danish Ghafoor, the President of India Forum, was honored with a memento by the JTS. It was presented by M. Siraj for his continuous support to the Jeddah Tamil Sangam. Ezhil proposed a vote of thanks.
