ICAE Talent Fest June2 2008

An unusually large crowd turned out last Friday afternoon for the ICAE Talent Fest. More than 150 people including fathers, mothers and kids found their way (well, almost) to the venue, on the outskirts of Maadi, the drive in itself an adventure ride past scenic boulevards, mountains, construction cranes and sharp turns. A few families decided to join the fun event driving all the way from Port Said, to perform at the show.

No weird talents, but the fun event saw some very young talents like Monica's 4-year old twins dressed up as "flower girls" in cute, mid-riff baring ghagras; and a 'meera bai' clutching her sitar, draped in white and so lost in thought that she forgot to leave the stage.. A dance sequence from Chaitra to the popular number 'aaja nachle' got the show to a thumping start.

Back stage the air was tense with parents participating as well .. a very nervous mother was hastily slapping on more make-up onto her young one's face while trying to memorize the lines from her song. In some cases complete families decided to show their worth.. the Siddharth couple sang a duet ( Piya..piya, piya) while their son strummed a short piece on the guitar.

Quite amazing were some of the not-so-young talents, particularly Pratibha , Bashwati & Vilasini who sang beautifully well. The pre teens- Samiksha and Sashta did a professionally choreographed dance while the final item by teens Arzoo & Mini (set to Crazy kiya re..) did their mummies proud.. fathers of course were more pre-occupied at the food section.

Much before the crowds arrived, Shameem was seen giving her final touches with a drape of silk here and a lamp there. Juggling between the CD, cassette player and in one case an ipod, Anil did prove his talent managing the sounds and mixes while Maya was heard negotiating hard for an extra chiller to cool the beer and cold drinks when the coffee making machine decided to stop giving out hot water. But despite the usual hiccups of hired helps not showing up, light technician throwing his tantrums when asked for an extra spot light and tables not arriving on time, going by the crowds and claps, people did pay attention to Bency's efficient compering.

Pop corn and cotton candy vendors did brisk business with kids right at the doors as did the samosa and kachori walas. Back on the terrace a few tables sold Bedouin silver and bindis alongside a display of Toral's pottery while beer and ice cream got consumed in rather subdued numbers. Much later, as the afternoon wore on, Harish rounding up his motley crew for a 'debriefing' session had to confront some very hard facts from Swapnil. A broken table, empty food stalls and a lot of hungry people, some of them with take home biriyani packs.. all tell tale signs of a successful event !

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