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*A*mazing music, perfect symphony, vivid colors, choreographed performances, lighting effects and an enthusiastic crowd. Throw in a Member of the Parliament and a Padmashree Award winner and this is what you get. Ey Aa O, a Joint Family Production venture in aid of Give Life, was a result of a collaboration where the folk and classical traditions of India met for the very first time on a contemporary stage. The performers were a part of the Chennai Sangamam group which recently went to China to perform. Held at Lady Andal School on Sunday night, the auditorium saw a full house! The guests of honour, Member of Parliament Poet Kanimozhi and Padmashri A.R. Rahman graced the occasion with their presence. Poet Kanimozhi said, "This show is special for two reasons. One is to honour the Sangamam artists who have bestowed pride upon our nation by going to China. And secondly it is to provide assistance to Give Life which is dedicated to improve the standards of poverty stricken children. We should all become a part of Give Life and support all their ventures." The music on the stage was mesmerising. The crowd moved in accordance with the beats, and it almost seemed like they may get up and start dancing any moment. This was a performance where the tabla, mridangam, dilruba, violin, thavil, nadeswaram, urumi, thudumbu, drums, veena and the guitar shared the same stage and provided us with 2 hours of non-stop entertainment!The Thappattam dance form and the Bharatnatyam dance took center stage. Says Donnan Murray, the lead guitarist and a veena player, about their recent trip to China, "The China trip can be described with just one word. Thrilling! The people there actually responded to our music. Except in Beijing where the crowd was very traditional, everywhere else the audience was young and enjoyed our music. They liked the way our music and dance was integrated and this entirely novel music form changed their perception." The two men behind this splendid show are the Show Director, Elango Kumaravel and Music Director, Paul Jacob. Says Paul with a laugh, "The trip to China was pleasantly surprising! We found the younger generation there to be highly upbeat and very encouraging. The entire trip was very crazy and exciting." As it is in every show, success rests in the hands of people working behind the stage. This is what Stage Manager, Hemant Kumar had to say. "The entire experience was very interesting. We performed very well as a team. Thanks to our really good facilities and the grace with which the artists carried themselves, the crowd in China loved us!" *A.R. Rehman, While taking the stage for the launch of their DVD, kept his words short and sweet. "I was moved by seeing the performances. Chennai Sangamam and Give Life are both wonderful ideas. God bless these ventures", he said before handing over the mike to the host and walking off with a smile. * Ey Aa O comprised of an integration of traditional music and dance from all over India including Rajasthani folk, Baul, Bharatnatyam, Carnatic, Hindustani and others. http://www.chennaionline.com/cityfeature/Chennai/June08/06article01.aspx -- regards, Vithur HELP EVER; HURT NEVER; LOVE ALL; SERVE ALL
