The Boston Tamil Association of New England staged a grand cultural festival (Kalaivizha) on Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at Rogers Center for the Arts, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA. The event was attended by a large number of Tamilians of Sri Lankan origin settled in the New England area who enthusiastically promote and support the various activities of the Association. The festival bore ample evidence of this enthusiasm and dedicated involvement of all the members to foster the sustained growth of this Association, which provides an enduring link for them with their mother tongue Tamil with its ever lasting glory.

The glorious traditions enshrined in their culture were vividly brought out through scintillating dances, melodious songs, thought provoking narratives and skits covering a wide spectrum of well defined themes. Colorful settings, excellent audio system, crisp introduction (both in chaste Tamil and English) by the master of ceremonies Dr. Shymala Maheswaran all helped to give a pleasurable long lasting impression in the minds of the audience.

The program started with an invocatory song in prasie of Goddess Tamil composed by the immortal Tamil poet Subramonia Bharathiyar and sung by a group of young talented students. This was followed by a group dance in classical Bharatanatyam style. The next item had a thought provoking theme "There is only one race and only one God." Through this item the audience got a kaleidoscopic view of different seemingly distinct religions with a strong undercurrent of unifying force among all of them embodying love, compassion and global fraternity. Another dance in praise of Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth, followed in Bharatanatyam style.

The immortal legacy of the Tamil heritage was subtly brought out by highlighting the epoch making achievements of scholars, kings, reformers etc. during the various centuries down to the present day movie stars and politicians. A harmonious blend of three styles of dancing viz. Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Rajasthani was a uniquely distinct one. The next item was Villu Pattu, a narrative form of story telling through folk music which is popular even today among the rural masses.

The immortal love story of Anarkali and Saleem was presented in an eye catching dance drama amply portraying the intensity of love and pathos punctuated by impressive dialogs and soul stirring music. The drama "Last Minute Situations" was a hilarious comedy. The program ended with a light filmy music.

As the organizers had promised in the beginning, it was a harmonious blend of all the Tamil cultural traits. The large number of boys and girls who enthusiastically participated (including some toddlers) and their parents who did not grudge time and effort for their participation significantly contributed to the success of the program. Last but not the least, the organizers and the program coordinators deserve a special mention. A memorable event indeed with nostalgic memories of the same lingering for long.

|