"Praharsha" is the cultural organization of the department staff of Commercial Taxes In Kozhikode.  Almost 99 percent of the staff are members of this organization. We mainly conduct two programs every year,  One is the Annual Day of the organization and the second one is Onam celebration.  For onam we have a varietiful cultural events followed by a traditional lunch which we call 'Ona Sadhya'.  It is a wonderful time for all and truly in spirit of the most celebrated festival of Kerala. I will give you some more details in my next blog. See you then. 

Dance is the poetry of the foot - John Doyden

Yes, it is.  The just concluded Annual Fest of ‘Praharsha’ did confirm it once again.  The stunning performance of our beauty girls was nothing but the poetry itself. 

‘Praharsha’ is the Cultural Club (or Cultural Wing) of the Commercial Tax Staff of Kozhikode.  In Malabar, such a cultural organization exists only in two districts.  The other one is in Wayanad named ‘Active’.  But ‘Active’ is not as active as the ‘Praharsha’ of Kozhikode. 

This year the Annual Day celebration of ‘Praharsha’ held on the 11^th January, 2014 at IMA Hall at Kannur Road, Kozhikode.  The Fest was inaugurated by Shahabaz Aman, the Gazal Singer-cum-Music Director.

Shahabas’ speech was not a verbal jugglery but a shower of music.  It was some  honey drops.  Everyone joyfully listened to him.  His short and sweet speech was a solace to the ear.  He sang a few numbers rendered by himself for various movies at different times.  Literally he stole the listeners’ heart.

The post lunch session witnessed the rocking performance of our women folks.  They were beautiful, brave and blasting.  Baby Girija and company did justice to their ‘Thiruvathira’ play. Swapna ma'm gave her a good company along with other members. Then came the pulsating performance by way of Punjabi dance.  Delar Mehandee’s beating number gave our smart girls enough scope to rock the stage and shock the audience.  Anjana, Bijili, Sreejini, Shibi Krishna, Maya, Sindhu, Jaya Gopinath and Reshma, they are just not beautiful but brilliant performers too.  But the outstanding performer this time was Sreejini Santhosh with her  stylish rhythmic movements.

‘Oppana’ is one of the hot choices of Malabar. And Jasmin and team did once again prove   their mastery craft on the stage. She also expressed her musical talent by singing a melody.  

A classical dance is a feast to every eye.  The talent of Mrs Sachith was commendable. Her graceful movements impressed everyone.  She is an excellent performer.  Also, the solo performance of two other girls, the daughters of Sunil (Kunhalan) and Santhakumari (AC), were worth mentioning. 

After dance, what impressed the audience was music.  Two names deserve mention here.  The performance of Mrs Jayaprasad and Anil Kumar, the brother of Radhakrishnan, IAC was superb.  Both had excellent voice and great rendering.

Though the women outnumbered men in presence and performance, some magical spell was displayed by the male staff also.  Srikanth, Ramakrishnan, Sudheesh, Radhakrishnan (IAC), Sunil Kumar (IAC-I), all of them did their best. Valsan read a poem on contemporary topic.

Srikanth and Bindu as usual did show their magic over voice.  Ramakrishnan too impressed the gathering.  The orchestra performed by Skrikanth and team was fine and appreciable.

And who was the ‘surprise performer’?  Doubtlessly I will say it is Asha Perumal Swamy.  At this age and shape, she did perform and showed us what is true sportsman spirit is. Hari was another hero with his performance as Charli Chaplin. Both taught us a lesson on the value of participation.

Is everything concluded on a happy note? 

That is the million dollar question.  The answer is YES and NO.  Absolutely No and partially Yes.  Why yes?

I shall say.  Though all are amateurs, they did their acts decently and honestly.  It was a brave attempt too to impress the audience with their little knowledge on these fine arts. Everyone performed on a level of ‘above average’.  That is appreciable and what we call the true sportsman spirit.  Congrats bravos! Hence YES!

And Why ‘No’?

The event was held on a 2^nd Saturday, a holiday.  Yet the turn out, I mean the attendance, was too low.  It was even below 40%.  It is disappointing and shocking.  After all what all these program is and  to whom it is meant for.  It is not a political procession nor a boring conference.  But the get together of a few people, who love and enjoy some fine arts.  It is the happy hours of a few people irrespective of politics, religion, caste and departmental hierarchy.  Yet a lion share of the staff opted the luxury of their privacy at home.  They missed the sweet occasion. Does it sound fine?  NO.

I don’t blame anyone but just love to remind the 'escapists' the famous words of William Cowper.  “Absence from whom we love is worse than death”.

Hope all got the inner message of this Blog.