Thousands attend White Pigeon Mega Musical in U.K.

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 January 2008, 17:40 GMT]
Thousands of British Tamils attended White Pigeon's 2nd Annual Mega Musical Festival in the Great Hall of the historic Alexandra Palace in London, Saturday to raise funds to support White Pigeon humanitarian projects in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka. White Pigeon works with UNICEF and international NGOs in the NorthEast of the country to provide prosthetic limbs for mine victims and Mine Risk Education for those living in war affected areas.

Over 4,500 persons of all ages paid from ₤25 - ₤100 to attend the Festival which lasted from 7:30-11:30 PM and featured Tamil musical and film stars from Southern India.

Chitra, known as the “Nightingale of South India”, who has recorded hundreds of film and non-film songs and Mano performed many crowd favourites.

Tamil musical stars Karthik, Srilekha Parthasarathy, Ranjith, and Vanaja performed several songs that got the audience to its feet. A local singer also joined Karthik for a duet. The singers were supported by musicians of the Sam Music Group who provided support for many hours.

Bollywood stars Madhumita and Nanda spoke of their trip to the Vanni during the filming of the film “Aanivaer” and the work that they witnessed White Pigeon performing with war affected persons. Madhumita described the depth of the suffering that she encountered, and said she was inspired by the strong will and resilience of all the Tamils she met.

Madhumita also performed a solo dance which enthralled the audience.

A London based youth dance troupe also performed some original modern dances during breaks in the musical program.

Dr. N.S. Moorthy, founder and Chairman of White Pigeon UK and a Freeman of the City of London, addressed the audience on the work that White Pigeon performs in Sri Lanka for those affected by the war, work that allows the victims of mines, bombing and shelling to be rehabilitated and return to their livelihoods. He thanked the audience for their support and urged them to continue to contribute so that White Pigeon could continue its projects.

Over 150 volunteers contributed their time and effort in handling administrative matters and assist in the smooth running of the musical, event organizers said.