Boston Sargam 2011

‘My first official photography assignment”

Just a little while ago, I was in front of the camera and was the "unexpected model"! This time around, having volunteered for Boston Sargam, I was assigned the task of getting behind the camera! I  agreed with trepidation. Armed with Anurag’s latest love of his life, a newly acquired fearfully expensive camera, I set off to capture for posterity,one of the biggest Bollywood dance and music competitions of the New England area.

It was an incredible experience. There was a volcano of talent simply waiting to erupt on stage. The show started with 10 New England professional singers taking the stage and what followed was simply magical! Mesmerizing musical and dance performances by all age groups enthralled the audience. My personal favorite was when three adorable dolls...sorry girls aged 5-7 took the stage and showcased their singing abilities. The confidence, innocence and cuteness of the  girls touched a chord in every one’s heart!

And its amazing what being behind the camera does to your perspective! Some faces  were so expressive that I couldn’t help but just click away. I captured a lot of moods, expressions, and the explosion of talent of the performers on stage. I did my best  to do justice to the show,the performers as well as the audience. Here are some of my favorite shots. Do let me know what you think of the endevour!

You can find more pictures at my newly created "Life is a bowl of M&M’s" facebook page.
Oh, and did I tell you that this performance was on Karwa Chauth day and I had been fasting all day? Like all shows there was a bit of delay in the moon showing up too. My friends on Facebook very kindly informed  me promptly that the moon was out. After Anurag’s insistence via SMS, I broke my fast. Anuradha Palkurthi – Thank you so very much for the water, dates and almonds.  Manju Sheth thank you for looking out for me!!!

All in all it was a rewarding experience. Thank you Boston Sargam team for introducing me to another latent potential that was waiting to be discovered!

                       I seem to be on a discovery trail.....

The Giant Red Chair 

Over the last many years in the Boston area, we have met some wonderful people, struck up new friendships, been to countless parties – in short has been a fun time. With Aaria’s 3^rd  birthday around the corner, it was our turn to have a bash. And I just decided to have a biggish bash.

It was a kid’s birthday, so while it was to be a decent sized gathering, I wanted it to be kiddie oriented. The main objective was for the kids to have fun but also the parents to have some down time. Debbie and her team from Raddison Nashua were wonderful and understood what I wanted.

The final arrangement was that we had two pretty large halls adjacent to each other. One dedicated to children and the other was the formal luncheon area. The children’s area had 4 activity tables managed by group of baby sitters…, a big bouncy house, ball game and the giant red chair.

 

 

I actually designed the activity tables myself; yeah, with some grunt work thrown in my hubby, Anurag. These were the goal oriented kind of tasks, what the kiddies call ‘projects’, with the end of each activity giving a reward. Yup, these did manage to keep the kids pretty occupied while the parents (most anyway), could be in the ‘adult’ area.

The other big hit was the giant red chair. It was supposed to be entertaining for the kids, but I think the parents got a bigger kick out of it. And that chair was the photo-opp spot of the afternoon. I’ll let some of the pictures here speak for themselves. And yes, when some 6 or 7 adults actually started jumping around on it, there was quick hint of even more excitement. We thought the chair might actually tip; but no such luck – would have been pretty entertaining (in the slip on the banana peel way) for the rest of us J

A quick shout out to some of the Vendors - Indian Decorations and goody bags were from  Bird's Craft. Bouncy House, Red Chair and Ball game from Crystal Entertainment . The Dora Cake from Frederick’s pastries Fredericks Pastries in Amherst NH. Of course, it was a great big hit with Aaria, and not because it was a sort of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake.  Though “Tico” was missing from the Dora ensemble – something that Aaria to date has not forgotten J! Thanks a ton to Jen Alton photography, for the photos, some of which you are seeing on this page.

Seeing the enjoyment on the face of the kids throughout the party, really made my day. And getting the kids doing stuff on their own, kept the parents happy too !! And at the end of the party we were asked if a 3^rd Birthday was this elaborate what would Aaria’s wedding be like…..and Anurag’s quick response was “We will make sure she elopes”!!!