CHENNAI: Creating a fascinating mix of melodies, fast numbers and classical music, the singers of Voice Of District 3232 immersed the audience into many moods. The grand hall at Hotel Accord Metropolitan cultivated its own atmosphere of musical magic with the 14th season of one of the much-awaited singing competitions.
Organised by The Rotary Club of Chennai Towers, the event on Sunday witnessed the participation of almost 115 Rotarians, leading up to the grand finale with 30 selected contestants. While the Rotarians readied themselves for their moment in the spotlight, it was the orchestra band that had all our attention.
Into the grand finale
With Rtn Vinod Kumar PK, chairman of the event, supervising the smooth functioning, president Rtn Satish Jupiter walked us through the behind-the-scenes. “We’ve successfully completed 14 seasons because we have a strong collaboration. We have a committee of more than 15 members who have taken up the challenge of organising this competition. They spent the last two months creating this. The support from all the Rotarians was also huge. People reached out to us asking for the competition details. We are also giving an award for the first registrant this year to Shruti Sundar who beautifully penned a hand-written letter to tell how much this competition means to her,” he shared.
The 30 competitors were picked through a tough preliminary selection process, which was conducted on September 11. Senior male (for above 30 years), Senior female (for above 30 years), Young Adult (from 18 to 29 years), Duet, Western (for above 18 years) and the Group were the six categories for the finale. The western category was the highlight of this year and the performers sang English, French and popular western songs. Illustrious talents from the music business, Kaushik Sridharan, Sangeetha, Balaji Sri, Soundarya, Ganga, Swagatha and dubbing artiste Pramila, were the judges.
Hosted by Sangita Vinod, the event witnessed the enthusiastic participation of Rotarians of all ages. Vinod Saraogi, founder of Go Colours and special invitee at the event shared, “Voice Of District 3232 is such a lovely platform. All the contestants are supremely talented singers. Every year, Rotarians from across the district look forward to participating in this prestigious event. Entering into the finals itself is a big deal. Winning or losing comes after that. Every participant is taking part with that enthusiasm. This is also the best kind of fellowship you can have. Through these events, the rotary is bringing everyone together and giving the talented ones the opportunity to sing.”
List of winners
Young adult
Winner: Shruthi Sundar (RC Nungambakkam)
Runner-up: Bharath Gopal (RC Nungambakkam)
Senior female
Winner: Iswarya Venkataraman (RC Chennai Octave)
Runner-up: Smitha David (RC Madras Temple City)
Senior male
Winner: Ravishankar (RC Chennai Capital)
Runner-up: Shaji Bharath (RC Midcity)
Duet
Winner: Freddy, Meena (RC Madras North)
Runner-up: Srivatsan, Venkat (RC Madras Nungambakkam)
Group
Winner: Madras North
Runner-up: Madras Downtown
Western
Winner: Meenakshi Rajeev (RC Madras North)
Runner-up: Iswarya Venkataraman (RC Chennai Octave)
Fellowship award: RC Downtown