A Note on Josh for Senior Citizens 2020 – An online extravaganza
(Dr P Vyasamoorthy)
VIjayavahini Trust in collaboration with Silver Innings, Livolink
Foundation and Tata Advanced Systems conducted a Senior Citizens
Talent Show online in celebration of International Day of Older
Persons (IDOP). It consisted of six online sessions on Zoom parallelly
streamed on Facebook during 1030 am to 12:00 pm and 4:00pm to 6:00 pm
on 2nd, 3rd and 4th October 2020 under the name JOSH for Senior
Citizens 2020. Nearly 100 senior citizens, from the comfort of their
homes, proudly exhibited a wide variety of talents ranging from
singing, dancing, story- telling, sharing jokes, art and craft pieces,
public speaking, mimicry etc. They came from Mumbai, Bihar, Hyderabad,
Coimbatore etc. One could hear not just English and Hindi, but also
Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarathi etc.
True to the bye line adopted for this show: Hum Kise se Kum Nahi, the
participants proved beyond any doubt that they are unequal to none.
Ms Goli Anuradha showed us how to make decorative plant using Ridrakha beads
Ms Mani Koppala read a poem written by her who did journalism after sixty
Smt Srimahalakshmi spoke on meditation techniques and stressed that
regular meditation even for ten minutes twice a day will be beneficial
Smt Vijaya gayatri told us a story
Sri Vijayakumar, well known to Twin city audience, performed skipping
and showed his six pack muscles
Sri Samudrala Janardhan Rao of Kareem nagar told how he learnt the
nuances of digital art and showed a few amazing greeting cards he made
out of photos given to him.
Smt Darapu Janaki Devi rendered a sweet Telugu song
Smt Dadinath of Mumbai gave a Hindi Song – she has sung more than 1000 songs!
Sri Vasudeva Rao and his wife sang Mavaa Mavaa – a sexy duet of yester years.
Smt Hira Mandadi, a globetrotter, gave impressive stories of her visit
to Australia
Sri Akula Chandra Gupta sang Thinnava Ledha ani Adigave Kani . He is a
born singer. He can sing without any notes. Has the special ability to
identify film songs in different languages based on the same tune.
Dr Sobha staged a drama in English and Telugu displaying her
multifaceted skills. The theme surrounded three characters: a
daughter, her mother and mother in law, telling how they are spending
time during corona. It was awesome. Kamakshi's introduction of Sobha
was equally flattering.
Sri Ashokraj Maidam narrated a story of a Tender Coconut vendor
wondering how he picks up tender coconuts of various descriptions just
by tapping, shaking and listening to the sound of water within.
Sri Veeresham gave an inspiring song in Telugu motivating people to
become literates.
Sri Chepuri Shankar Rao rendered a beautiful song in Telugu on the
travails of people on account of COVID , all written and set to music
by him.
Sri K Udaya Babu entertained us with a long poetic number
Ms Vijayalakshumi Prabhakar, retired from the Handicrafts sector,
showed exquisite pieces of Banjara embroidery work; she also narrated
a couple of instances of highly satisfying and proud moments when the
training of craftswomen in marketing skills bore immense fruits in
foreign exhibitions.
Sri Patalla Bakkar read a poem in Telugu on Elders Day
One Sudha Mehta gave a scintillating dance performance
Mrs Nilaxi Surti recited with religious fervour, a Bhajan number in
Gujarati, that she had learnt from her mother
Ms Krishnaveni made a speech explaining how instilling discipline,
even incorporating punishments, during her school days was beneficial.
Ms Radha Kadali sang a number from the film The Titanic – pleasing to the ears
Ms Jayasree demonstrated how to make a flower tree using molten wax
into which wax crayon colour was mixed.
Mr Krishnakumar, a retired teacher, enthralled us showing all how he
can mimic many of the famous singers of the cine world like
Ghantasala, Pankaj Malik, SK Burman, RD Burman, Mukesh, Mannade, Bappi
Lahiri, KL Sahgal, MS Rama Rao et al. It was a great treat.
Kamakshi donned a garland of grocery items like masala sachets with a
cap saying Kottu and sold her wares in an imaginative, multilingual
sales pitch. It was a unique and innovative exposition.
I missed nearly thirty percent of the shows as I had other pressing engagements.
Anamika, Kamakshi, Hira Mehta and Sailesh Mishra acted as Anchors.
Anamika was simply oozing with positivity, encouraging and enthusing
the participants. Kamakshi captivated us with her command over English
and Hindi, made innovative introductions, commenting positively about
every participant. Hira Mehta handled Hindi, Marati and other
participants effectively. Sailesh Mishra is a born anchor connecting
people in a congenial manner. His experience in ageing sector for
decades makes him the best anchor for such talent shows.
We had three days of fun, engagement and interaction indescribable.
Million Thanks to all concerned from me and others who watched the
show. For those interested Videos of the sessions are available
online, provided by Vijayavahini Trust.
4th Oct-Evening performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=801905230625260
4th Oct-Morning performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=662449687790273
3rd Oct-Evening performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=364995214690107
3rd Oct-Moring performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=330906328170183
2nd Oct-Evening performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1002936980127631
2nd Oct-Morning performances:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1443219275873304
