TAMU LHO-CHHAR 2017 CELEBRATED IN VICTORIA
Date : Jan 15, 2017
Posted By : Admin
Event Description :
Tamu Samaj Victoria organized “Lho-Chhar 2017” on Sunday, 8th Jan 2017 at Estonia House, 43 Melville Road, West Brunswick, Victoria, Australia. Around 300+ Gurungs (Tamus) and other community people came from all over Victoria and interstate to bid goodbye to “Year of Monkey” and welcome “Year of Bird”.
Usual program highlights were Budhha pooja and blessings from Lama Indra Bahadur Gurung; welcome of VIP guests by offering the “Kata” and badge at the entrance; formal acknowledgement of VIP guests by MC Mr Mabi Gurung; welcome speech by Secretary Ms Amrita Gurung; official announcement of Program start and overview of Tamu Samaj Victoria activities by President Mr Pahalman Gurung; best wishes from VIP guests (Chief Guest VMC Commissioner Ms Helen Kapalos, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Mr Andrew Crisp APM, and Nepalese Consulate General Mr Chandra Yonzon) on stage; traditional Gurung/Nepali songs and dances from talented in-house artists both kids and adults; Live music performance by THE UNDERLINE and MYSTIK bands; certificate distribution to artists, choreographers and sponsors; recognition to academic achievements in VCE and Higher Education by Gurungs, Raffle prize draw and T-shirts sale by Ama Group, and Thank you note by the President concluding the program. Our professional photographers Mr Sunil Ramailo and Mr Shyam Rana captured the red carpet moments and program highlights throughout the day. Our excellent sound system was handled expertly by Mr Karna Rana and Mr Amrit Gurung.
Kind attendance from various Nepali community organization leaders also added a significant value to the program. We would like to thank NAV President Dr Anupam Pokharel; NRNA Victoria Vice-Coordinator Karna Rana; Magar Samaj Victoria President Mohan Rana; Kirat Samaj Victoria President Sanjay Rai and GNCV President Jum Bahadur Gurung for their valuable presence. On media thank you to My Nepal Television, Nepali Times Australia, Himalayan Kangaroo, and Melbourne Chautari who covered the program.
We would also like to thank our event sponsors “The Kathmandu Cottage”, “Oz Choice Finance” and “TWGG” for personal as well as financial support. Tamu Samaj Victoria also acknowledges the support from VMC (Victoria Multicultural Commission) throughout the year, its continuous support helps us to create and celebrate a part of multicultural society in Victoria.
Stage performance by kids and adults in their traditional Gurung and Nepali attire was again absolutely a stand-out this year. Guests and crowd, mostly in traditional Gurung dress, did not stop applauding a truly collective performance of Gurung culture and their love for music, songs and dances. VIP guests also joined in to sing and dance along with artists. This year’s performance was choreographed and directed by talented Pooja Gurung, Samjana Gurung, Kancha Magar, Ishwor Gurung, Manmaya Gurung, and Sunil Parajuli. A long list of artists who performed wonderfully on the day are Kisha, Karissa, Ekeesha, Arianna, Nistha, Bhumika, Melina, Kusum, Amangel, Angad, Riwaj, Nisha, Grishma, Sonia, Christina, Simran, Merina, Calden, Adhish, Losang, Kanchan, Anil, Maniha, Shyam, Sushma, Sunil, Pari, Syna, Christina, Inasha, Rikisha, Inshita, Divya, Shreya, Amrit, Mahendra, Tanka, Anil, Mohini, Sevika, Ishwor, Prabin, Choeyang, Manav, Rizu, Hanisha, Soniya, Nisha, Sizza, Mabi, Maya, Kusmi, Anita, Paru, Manisha, Shanti, Maya Ghale, Subi, Pooja, and artists from THE UNDERLINE and MYSTIC bands. There were also many unseen artists and volunteers (especially Parents) behind the scene who contributed to venue, practice, catering food/drinks, transportation, logistics, meetings, discussion, liaison, etc. Thank you very much to all.
Several dedicated volunteers helped to make the event happen as it happened, few among them are: Assistant Treasurer Mr Milan Gurung, Mr Bishan Gurung and Mr J.B. Gurung helped out with the entry tickets, Tamu Samaj Victoria annual membership and Cultural centre brochure distribution. Ama Samuha’s Raffle prize and T-shirt sale activity was led by Ms Maya Gurung (some Babas also helped out). Mr Rajan Gurung took care of attending Lama and Pooja decoration. Mr Bam Gurung, Mr Karna Rana and Mr Pahalman Gurung helped to set up the sound system and projector. The welcome red carpet decoration was led by Dipu Gurung. Numerous volunteers came forward to setup the venue in the morning. Guest reception was looked after by Vice-president Mr Tej Gurung and Mr Gopal Gurung. Entertaining the audience as masters of ceremonies, we had brilliant Mr Mabi Gurung and Ms Mohini Gurung. The certification distribution during the thank you dinner was handled by Ms Amrita Gurung and executive members. The catering for food and drinks was provided The Kathmandu Cottage, Mr Bam Gurung stands out as a dedicated Gurung volunteer to support the program from start to finish. Dance coordination, Facilities coordination and Overall program coordination were taken care by Mr Mabi Gurung, Ms Amrita Gurung and Mr Arun Gurung respectively.
Tamu Samaj Victoria executive committee and board members played a key role of taking the lead from preparation to the execution of the program. Many have spent hundreds of hours voluntarily throughout the years on weekends and after hours besides their other commitments. Their dedication and passion for preservation and promotion of Tamu culture and heritage in Victoria can not be expressed in words, and will be rightly valued by future Gurung generations to come.
Lastly to all the Gurung as well as other community people who took their valuable Sunday time to join us and celebrate our biggest festival Lhochhar as one BIG family, thank you very much. It was for you, without your active attendance and participation, the program would not have been as grand as it was. Please follow up and stay tuned to our various communications channels such as website, email, facebook and viber.
Please feel free to contact any committee member for further information or any suggestion.
Thank you
Tamu Samaj Victoria