May 12, 2009
“Chithirai Thiruvizha” Function by Tennessee Tamil Sangam (TTS)
On May 2nd Saturday 2009, the “Tennessee Tamil Sangam (TTS)” celebrated the "Chithirai Thiruvizha" function at the stylish Shamblin Theatre (two levels) inside the Lipscomb University campus in Nashville, TN. This first major function in the 16th year of TTS started with “Thamizh Thai Vazhthu" sung by Mrs. Nithya Jayesh and Mrs. Pushpa Ullur. Mr. Vasanth Kuppuswamy and Ms. Sneha Venkataraman were the emcees for this gala event which was well attended by a large group of people.
A lively welcome speech was provided by the ex-Secretary Mr. Nachiappan Narayanan.
Mrs. Aruna Karthick conducted the kids’ games with multiple houses viz. Tamil kingdoms of Cheran, Chozhan, Pandian and Pallavan. The kids had a really good time while she asked them interesting questions related to the rich heritage of Tamil Nadu.
Past committee members were honored. Also, a multimedia slide show highlighting future programs and plans was presented by the new President Mr. Senthil Nathan. He also introduced the new team: Vice-President Mr. Raj Arcot, Secretary Mr. Karthick Chandrasekaran, Treasurer and web-team member Ms. Lata Pillai; executive committee members Mr. Ramesh Ramalingam, Mr. Narayanan Pal, Mr. Rajesh Khannan, Dr. Dharma Pitchay, Mr. Rajkumar Subhash; web-team and its members led by Mr. Dinesh Deva; Kolam Publications committee members Mr. Shankar Shankararaman and Mr. Sundaramoorthy Munirathinam.
The first edition of the revitalized Tamil magazine “Kolam” was released by Dr.V.G.Dev (co-founder of TTS) to Dr. S. Deivanayagam of Cookeville, TN. In his speech, Dr. Dev re-iterated the difficulties faced by the Srilankan Tamils.
Mr. Ravi Shetkar, socialist and editor of Jan Darpan, the monthly magazine for community news and information, was felicitated for his tireless service to the Indian community in the South East Region of USA. He was honored by Dr. M. Gunasekaran, the first president of TTS.
A lucky draw raffle organized by Mr. Naga Rajan was held and the raffle winner was announced by Dr. M. Jayaraman, a former president of TTS.
The highlight of the evening was the cultural program that featured Tamil film songs presented by the cultural team. Following this was a colorful dance performed by the kids for a catchy movie song.
While everyone enjoyed the potluck dinner organized by the ex-president Mrs. Sudha Nagarajan, many children and adults from the audience sang songs and played musical instruments in an improptu manner during the open hour session. Everyone enjoyed the event and had fun.
Photos and other info are available at: http://www.tenntamil.org
