Saturday, 22nd September 2008 – The Michaelian Tamil Language Society (TLS) organized a 'Fund Raising Dinner' for the first time in history at the St. Michael's school hall. The aim of this event was to overcome the financial burden of TLS and promote the Indian culture amongst other races.
As I drove into the school compound, I was greeted with hanging coconut leaves throughout the covered pathway. Two flowering banana tree trunks were tied to the poles as a sign of prosperity. A kolam, was done up in the foyer. The ordinary hall was turned into a traditional Indian setting. The framed pictures on the walls painted by the legendary Master Timothy Chee also set the mood with the painting of the traditional Indian dance – the Bharatanatyam.
By 8pm the emcees – Master Benjamin, Miss Shantini, and Miss Mariammah greeted us with warmth and comfort. The lights went off and the sounding of the thavil and nadaswaran signaled the arrival of the guest of honour – Mr. Phoon Chong Chee, principal of SMI. Upon entering, he was escorted to the main table by a group of girls with candles. Later, the 'kuthuvillakku' was lit as a sign to ward off evil. Another uniqueness of this occasion was everyone stood and listened to the singing of the tamil valthu which serves as a welcoming act to everyone for any Indian occasion.
Pn. Geethaa Samyvelu, as organizing chairperson and teacher advisor of TLS, and Mr. Phoon were invited to say a few words. They thanked everyone especially teachers, sponsors, parents for making the event a success. They added that the money raised was for the benefits of the Indian community and had relief the TLS of financial constraint. In addition, they hope that this event will also revive the tradition of Indian culture in SMI.
The whole night was filled with events such as the singing of Tamil songs, a piano recital by Miss Premitha an ex-Michaelian; and not forgetting the lucky draw which 'drew' the crowd's attention to the attractive prizes that were bound to be won. Martin's Catering Group too didn't miss out the opportunity to perform a fire sword dance while serving dinner to the guests.
The Indians have a diversified culture and I would commend a few prominent performances. Most were performed by our very own Michaelians and ex-Michaelians which were the Bharatanatyam dance, the tabla recital, singing of a karnatic song and mirgrindam recital, and a veenai recital. The TLS also invited the Sebastian Dance Academy to perform for the night.
The Bharatanatyam, a classical dance was performed by Santiago, an ex-Michaelian, who made a notable appearance with his father and later went solo. Every move he made was flawless, perfectly executed and very masculine. Seriously, it was difficult to stamp while following closely to the rhythm but he made it looked easy! Encore! Master Nakhieeran then recited the tabla which required precise tapping of rhythms. Well, rhythm wasn't a problem for the young man as he is a band member himself. He then proceeded singing a karnatic song accompanied by the playing of the mirgrindan by Master Christopher Muvinraj.
The invited performers from the Sebastian Dance Academy performed a unique dance called karagattham which required dancers to dance while balancing a pot over their head. The show didn't just stop there as they did another dance but this time it was on a table of nails. Ouch, that's got to hurt! Christopher Muvinraj told me this, "When I tried stepping on the table of a nails, I could feel the blood rushing to my head!" So, a word of caution to anyone especially kids, NEVER ever try this at home!
With all the fun and excitement, it's a shame to say that all good must come to an end. Around 10.15 pm, Pn. Leela managed the closing ceremony. She applauded the TLS organizing team members for their great effort and invited them to come on stage. Master Sambruce, as president of the TLS, said a few words before we adjourned. Finally, the members of the organizing team and all teachers took a photo to commemorate that event for the night.
Overall, the event was a big success for TLS as this was their first time organizing a big event which turned out fine. Not only that, the hall was a full house for the night! I was amazed at the participation of the Indian community regardless in or outside of SMI. Kudos to the Michaelian Tamil Language Society! Well, that ends my covering for this wonderful 'Fund Raising Event'. I sincerely wish them all the best in their future undertakings and hopefully that in future you will have more activities. Vanakkham!
Written by,
Aaron Oo Chun Yi,
USS4, St. Michael's Institution.
Glossary of Tamil words:
Terms | Meaning |
Kolam | Means beauty in Tamil.
A decorative design in a variety of sandpainting using rice powder and the designs are generally symmetrical. |
Bharatanatyam | A classical sacred dance from Tamil Naidu which is the manifestation of the metaphysical element of fire in the human body consisting of elaborated gestures and emotional states. In short, actions are its soul. There are two physical aspects of the dance that is lasya (feminine lines and movements) and tandava (masculine movements). |
Thavil | A barrel shaped percussion instrument from South India. It is used in folk music and karnatic music, often accompanying the nadaswaram. |
Nadaswaram | The world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument. It is a wind instrument with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal.
This instrument is considered to be very auspicious and is played in almost all Hindu marriages and temples. It is usually played in pairs and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil. |
Mirgrindam | A percussion instrument and is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in karnatic music. |
Kuthuvillaku | A light stand with oil and candle wick. |
Tamil valthu | A greeting in the form of singing which serves as a welcoming act in any Indian occasion. |
Tabla | A classical Indian pair of hand drums. |
Karnatic song | Believed to have a divine origin – believed to have input from the Devas and Devis. The main emphasis in Karnatic music is on vocal music. Most of the composition are written to be sung, and even played on instruments. In other words, they're to be performed in a singing style. |
Veenai | One of the most ancient string instruments of India. The origin of this instrument can be traced back to the ancient yazh, a stringed instrument, similar to the Grecian harp. |
Karagattham | An Indian folk dance which requires the dancer to dance while balancing a pot on the head. |
Vanakkham | A Tamil way of saying thank you. |
D' Interviews
I had a chance to interview a few people and ask them for some feedbacks regarding the event and I got a good response from everyone I interviewed so far.
Mr. Edward (Pn. Usha's husband)
"Well to me it was great to be back in my alma mater since I left in 1981. During my time we never had such events and it's good to have events like this to bond with others."
Miss Premitha (ex-Michaelian 2006/2007, ex-vice president of TLS, 2006/2007)
"I was actually called back by Pn. Geetha to perform and was very excited to be here now. During my time, we weren't given the opportunity to organize such events I would like commend the TLS Exco's 2008/2009 for organizing such a spectacular event."
Mr. Ramesh Selavadurai (ex-Michaelian, 1969 – 1988; working in the furniture line and has his son studying in Form one this year)
"This event is a good start for the TLS and I believe that there is still room for improvement. But, I also hope that the TLS can invite people from other races because we are all Malaysians. By inviting them, they can learn about our culture and this strengthens the unity among us Malaysians. By doing so, we can be more open and be able to mingle around."
Mr. Phoon Chong Chee (principal of SMI)
"Well, the event was very well planned and is successful. This is a starting point for the Indian students to work and at the same time improve on character and team building that we are able to work together in unity. They will also have a more prominent role in helping out in the community and this helps the students to be more focused and responsible. As you can see today, the response of the crowd is good."
Sambruce (president of TLS 08/09)
"This event is a huge success and we faced a lot of ups and downs. We also faced a lot of challenges especially seeking permission to use the school hall and necessary equipment. This is our first time organizing and we had a total of 50 students with 10 to 15 teachers involved. So, we hope that this will continue not as an activity but a tradition."
Pn. Geetha (Teacher advisor, organizing chairperson)
"First and foremost, I was glad that every event went on time. In fact, I was quite surprised that everything was running on time. Initially I thought that it wasn't going to turn out well as this was out first time but in the end, the flow was there. We had been preparing this for a month and we faced a lot of obstacles especially getting the AVA system which we only got 2 days ago. I would like to extend my gratitude to Miss Corrinne Mah because it was she who went to search for the AVA company and ensured that the whole event went on as planned. We made her the performance coordinator because she has the drama elements in her. I wouldn't know what we would do without her help. We had a good response from the public especially from the parents of our own Michaelians. We only carried out the workshop this year and from this workshop we can see that the parents are very committed and we are able to reach out with not only the students but the parents as well."
Aaron Oo Chun Yi,
USS4, St. Michael's Institution.
NOTE: THANK YOU AARON FOR SPENDING TIME TO PREPARE THIS TREMENDOUS REPORT. ON BEHALF ON TAMIL LANGUAGE SOCEITY, I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR KIND EFFORT.THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
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