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Thursday, December 14, 2017

A TRIP TO PONDICHERRY - From ChuChu TV Studios

A TRIP TO PONDICHERRY

ChuChu TV Studios organized a One Day Fun Trip to Pondicherry on Saturday, the 16th September 2017. It was a bonus trip this year for getting the Diamond Play Button Award from the YouTube Channel.  The Diamond Play Button Award is a trophy in a metal casting with a YouTube play button symbol given to channels that surpass 10 million subscribers.

A few words about ChuChu TV Studios before elaborating on the fun trip:

ChuChu TV Studios is the third most subscribed YouTube channel in India with over 12 million subscribers now and over 10 billion video views. ChuChu TV consists of various YouTube channels for children that are dedicated towards creating 2D and 3D animation videos of traditional nursery rhymes with an incorporation of peppy music and a modern day aesthetic in them. The channels include ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs, ChuChu TV Surprise, ChuChu TV FunZone and ChuChu TV StoryTime.

Back to the fun trip:

                On the D-Day, at 8 ‘0’ Clock in the morning, around 150 members gathered at the office premises, decked up in their smart outfits, all set to enjoy the day, taking a break from the routine. It was fun to watch the employees taking Selfies here and there with funny expressions.
                The 150 members were seated in 4 buses – all ladies (a dozen of them) gathered in the same bus along with a cute little bundle of joy – the 2 year old daughter of our receptionist.

                                The moment the drivers steered the wheel
                                                                -towards a journey of 100 odd miles,
                                There was cheering and loud squeal
                                                                -from 4 buses – with 1000 watt smiles!

                The initial silence in the bus was broken by loud foot-tapping songs followed by “kuthu” dance which went on for a long time. The time just flew and we reached the destination “Grand Serenaa Hotel & Resorts”, Pondicherry at sharp 12.30 pm. Everyone got down from the bus and took Selfies again in front of the resort. True to its name, the resort looked very grand. We were welcomed by a cute smiling lady, who smeared sandal paste on our foreheads. We were then allotted rooms in batches of three by the smart organizers Sindhu and Karunas. The Directors of the company reached there by car.
               
While some of us refreshed ourselves in the room, some others had a chilling time in the swimming pool. We then had a sumptuous Buffet lunch – a wide variety of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian dishes – finishing with fruits and scoops of ice creams.

                 After lunch, we had a walk around the park
                                                Which had see-saw, slide and the swing!
                All these play-things made many eyes to spark
                                                Which some of them couldn’t resist using!!

                It was really like reminiscing our childhood days. The little baby had a great time on the slide. While going around the resort, we entered the banquet hall Palazzo. There to our surprise found a few employees practicing their dance and drama performances. They did it with a lot of zeal to make sure they entertain us in the night party. Then we went back to our respective rooms to take rest.
               
At 4 pm, everyone gathered at the auditorium for the Events and Games (with Coffee).
There was hustle-bustle in the auditorium for some time, which was suddenly calmed down by the sweet voice of a cute Compere Anu from the Event Management who managed the show with ease and with a sense of humour. She asked the audience to split into two teams – Team A and Team B and asked the teams to choose two leaders each – one male and one female from both the teams. Then she asked the teams to give some creative name to their teams. Team A was named YoYo and Team B – Jimikki Kammal. Leaders of YoYo team were Ashwini and Vyasaraj and the leaders of Jimikki Kammal team were Saranya and Gowtham.

·         The first programme was a Tamil Song
Shanmugham sang a Gaana song with full involvement.

·         Game for the audience
The team leaders had to collect certain things from their respective teams and submit them to the Compere. The team which gave it first was the winner.


         It was real fun to watch the team leaders’ desperate effort to collect these things and barge ahead. The team which lost, i.e, YoYo Team was given a punishment. The team leaders Ashwini and Vyasaraj were asked to dance a few steps for losing the game, which they sportively did for the song played. The winning team was given awards. 
·         Solo Dance by Ashwini for Hindi song mix.
She danced beautifully and enthralled the audience.

·         A skit by Srujan and Team
Awesome skit with no dialogues – actions says it all!
The entire team * did a great job while Srujan as Charlie Chaplin stole the show with his extraordinary acting skills.
The skit started with the entry of Srujan as a magician. He placed his hat on the ground and waved his fingers around it. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the hat to see what comes out. But all of a sudden he laughed at the audience and made fun of them. Suddenly paper balls were thrown on to the stage from the audience. Nothing to panic.. it was just a part of the skit. Laughter erupted all over.  Here he turns into Charlie Chaplin who makes fun of everyone around him.

                        Just when two lovers were about to click a Selfie
                        Chaplin comically intrudes into the Camera in a jiffy!

*The other members in the skit were: Vijay, Pawan, Guevera, Mahitha, Charan and Ashwini.

·         Karoake by Thirumurugan
He sang the Tamil song – “Thendral vandhu theendumbothu” from the movie Avathaaram.

·         Number Game
Ten members from each team had to come in front and the leaders stuck the numbers from 0 to 9 on their shirts. When the Compere asks a question, the answer which is only in numbers, should be formed by the team as soon as possible by coming in front. The first to form the right answer is the winner.
Some of the questions asked were:

                                Yoyo team won the game and they were awarded prizes.

·         Group dance by Karthik, Guevera and Jagadeesan
The team did a wonderful job. It was for the trendy hit number which has more than 4 million “Likes” in the Youtube!...Yes – Endammenda Jimikki Kammal!!!

·         Tamil Drama by Samuel and Team
The script was compiled by Karunas (source from Vijay TV’s Kalakka Povadhu Yaaru).
This drama had the audience in splits. Do you know what the theme is? I can hear you saying “I know, I know”…Yes! It is “Sandhegam” (Doubting).  Each and everyone in the skit enacted with perfection.

                The highlight was the female character “Lachu” portrayed by Sathish!
                Kudos to him for his commitment – he sacrificed his moustache!!

The cast details: Sathish as Lakshmi alias Lachu, Ranjith as Lachu’s father, Samuel as Lachu’s husband, Guevera as Lachu’s cousin (Morai mama), Venkat as Lachu’s boyfriend in College, Gowtham as Cylinder boy and Mani as Courier boy.
                        Sathish looked so beautiful in Saree and one would have certainly mistaken him for a female! Some guys were taking Selfies with him by putting their hands around her (his) shoulders. One guy even went to the extent of sending (whatsapp) that photo to his wife who was in Chennai. One can imagine what her reaction would have been and what was in store for him on reaching home!!!


·         Game exclusively for ladies
All the ladies were asked to come in front. Instead of the receptionist Nirosha, (who had to take care of her baby), Sathish (Lachu) participated!!!
They were split into 2 teams of 6 each and asked to stand on either side of the stage. One from each side had to walk on the stage and then do something creative together. While a few pairs did a wonderful job for the music played, some who had stage-fear just walked and went back while one lady just refused to come on to the stage.
                        Any guess which pair got the award…Shh!
                        Yes! It was none other than Sindhu and Sathish!!

·         A dance by Srujan, Vijay, Chandhu and Charan.
They danced for a Mix song Malhari from the movie Bhajirao Mastani and a Telugu song Seeti Maar from the movie DJ which was no doubt an energy packed performance!

·         Solo dance by Shobana
It was a fusion of Classical, Western and Folk which she did with ease.

                        The colourful glittering lights electrified her presence!
                        The constant pretty smile on her face added essence!!

·         Solo dance by Karthik
Karthik danced his way to glory for a mix of English, Tamil and Hindi Songs. It was a fusion of Hip hop (English), Female style – Tu Cheez Badi he (Hindi),  Tamil Fever (Tamil Rap) and Folk dance – Maari (Tamil).

·         Concept Game for the two teams
Both the teams were given 2 concepts each, which they had to enact.


       XIV.        Solo dance by Jagadeesan 
He danced for a mix of Tamil Songs.

·         The last game for the teams
Fifteen members from each team were asked to come in front of the stage. The leaders were asked to stand in front, followed by two members behind and then three members and so on!
When a 30-sec music was played, the leader had to do some dance steps which had to be followed by his team mates, then the person behind him was asked to come in front and dance for 30-secs which others had to repeat and so on till all the 15 members are done. It was such fun to watch the dance – some were good dancers, while some others were struggling hard to do, while one person (Mukesh) did exercise (dance) like actor Bhagyaraj !! Throughout the show, the audiences were in splits!

·         The last event was a Tamil skit
A comedy show in a Newschannel  - A talk with actor Mottai Rajendran. The participants were Kabilan and Narayanan.

There ended all the Events and Games!

        Krishnan Sir then came to the stage and announced that as there were many good performers, it was difficult to select the winners. So he said that each and everyone who stepped on the stage would get a prize.

                        And Lachu, “Krishnan Sir said that you’ll get a special prize!”
                        He said it would also be given to other deserving ladies and guys!!

Ranga Sir thanked the compere Anu, who beautifully managed the entire show and he also thanked all the others in the Event Management Team, who had done a wonderful job. Mementoes were given to the whole team.


       DJ Hari, who had a good timing sense, needs a special mention!
                         The funny dialogues (memes) he played in apt places eased our tension!!

Then there was the DJ Music with Cocktail Party.

                        One by one began to dance – after a while!
                        Each one in their own inimitable style  !!

This was followed by dinner at 9 pm. After which everyone left to their respective rooms.

        The next day, we refreshed ourselves in the room (a few in the swimming pool), some of us went cycling in the vast space in front of the resort.
Then we relished the VIP (Vada, Idli, Pongal) breakfast with Coffee at 8.30 am.
It was 10 am and time to bid good bye to Pondicherry. Off we hopped on to the respective buses and reached Chennai around 1.30 pm.
       
Our sincere thanks to the directors - Vinod Sir, Krishnan Sir, Suresh Sir, Ajith Sir and Subramanian Sir for giving us this wonderful opportunity which will be cherished in our memories forever. Special thanks to Somu Sir, Shyam Sir, Sindhu and Karunas for beautifully organizing this one day trip. Thanks to the bus drivers for the safe journey. Last but not the least, we thank the Almighty for everything.









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