2008

19 October 2008 - JHC OBA Sydney vs. Hartley College Annual Cricket Match [Photos]
On Sunday the 19th of October, the annual cricket match was held at Strathfield Park. The match was both exciting and a memorable event. However, JHC OBA, lost by a small margin however, the 2nd JHC OBA team consisting of parents and children played well and secured a fantastic victory. The captain of the JHC OBA team was Subathasan and the 2nd team captain was Rajayogan. The event had a good turn out and it was a wonderful get-together for the members and their families [Photos]

03 August 2008 - JHC OBA Sydney vs. Hartley College OBA Tennis Event 2008 [photos]
Group Tennis Match: The Jaffna Hindu vs. Hartley Annual Tennis Competition was held in North Parramatta Tennis Centre last Sunday (03/08/08). This year, the competition was a doubles tournament. There were four teams from each side with at least two players on each team. Each team played every other team in the opposition and all matches played consisted of a total of 8 games.

The weather was excellent on the day and the banners and school flags [photos] hanging on the side of the courts added colour to the event. Supporters also came along, cheering for their respective teams. Both teams exhibited good sportsmanship and the games were played in very professional and friendly manner.

At the end the tallied scorecard read 83 - 45 in JHC OBA Sydney's way. This was a great win [photo] by the JHC OBA team led by our Captain Sivakumaran. Last year the JHC OBA team lost the competition by a narrow margin and they bounced back in style to beat a formidable Hartley team which was brilliantly lead by Jeyamenon.

Both teams enjoyed food and refreshments which marked the end to another big event on the calendar of these two premier schools. Thanks to Blue Elephant Restaurant for sponsoring the major trophy for the event.

All in all, it was an enjoyable day for the members [Photos]

Final Tennis Match: [10 August 2008 - JHC OBA Sydney vs. Hartley College OBA Tennis Final 2008]The teams that obtained the highest score on each side played each other for the winning trophy and it was held on Sunday 10th August 2008 at North Parramatta Tennis Centre. Hartley College OBA won the final (2 - 1).. Hartley Team Consisted of Gnanasundaram and Jeyamenan [Photos] and the JHC team consisted of Anandan and Ambikairajah. [Photos]

8 June 2008 - Geethavani Awards 2008 [Photos]
The Geethavani Awards 2008 was held on Sunday the 8th of June at the Ryde Civic Centre. Like previous years, the show was conducted by Maestro Sarangan Sriranganathan. This unique event lived up to the high expectations and hype that was generated following the huge success of the event from previous years. The event was a sell out and the ticket booths had to be closed even before the show began.

The show kicked off with fusion music, a nice mix of eastern and western styles and what could have been more appropriate to present an excellent piece of fusion music than having a nice blend of talented performers from all parts of the world assembled on stage under the direction of a man who has mastered western classical and Hindustan music and Carnatic music.

Following the fusion music introduction the competition started with the performance of Category 1 singers who were under the age of 18. All three singers kept the audience on their feet and then it was up to the Category 3 singers to maintain the same level of entertainment. This group consisted of singers over the age of 30 and all three of them chose melodious songs from their era and kept the audience mesmerized. This was then followed by the most anticipated Category 2 performances, which had 6 contestants. This was more than the usual quota of 3 contestants per category and it was due to the fact that there were a large number of candidates for the auditions and the talent shown by this group made it impossible for the judges to pick the best three. Living up to the expectations of the eagerly awaiting crowd, the contestants delivered the performance of their lifetime. Every single one of them sang their hearts out. It was the kind of performance that would have made professional singers proud. The crowd got more appropriate to present an excellent piece of fusion music than having a nice blend of talented performers from all parts of the world assembled on stage under the direction of a man who has mastered western classical and Hindustan music and Carnatic music.

Following the fusion music intro the competition started with the performance of Category 1 singers whom are under the age of 18. All three singers kept the audience on their feet and then it was up to the Category 3 singers to maintain the same level of entertainment. This group consists of singers over the age of 30 and all three of them chose melodious songs from their era and kept the audience mesmerized. This was then followed by the most anticipated Category 2 performances, which had 6 contestants. This was more than the usual quota of 3 contestants per category and it was due to the fact that there were a large number of candidates for the auditions and the talent shown by this group made it impossible for the judges to pick the best three. Living up to the expectations of the eagerly awaiting crowd, the contestants delivered the performance of their lifetime. Every single one of them sang their hearts out. It was kind of a performance that would have made professional singers proud. The crowd got more than it bargained for and this was clearly evident by the appreciation shown by the audience after each and every song.

The show ended with another brilliant rendition of one the all-time favourite song 'Unakkenna Melae Ninraal' sang beautifully by Sarangan and towards the end transformed into a fusion duel between the guitar (played by Raymond and Shane) and sitar (played by Sarangan Sriranganathan). These two brilliant performers played their instruments with such grace and finesse, complex notes were negotiated with ease and the crowd loved every moment of it. This was clearly one of the highlights of the show.

The winners were then announced and presented with cash prizes and certificates. The Category 1 winner was Pravesh Purusothaman [photo], Category 2 winner was Ankita Sachdev [photo] and Category 3 winner was Sundaram Aravamudhan [photo].

At the end of the show the MC asked Sarangan how he thought the show went. Sarangan, without hesitation turned the microphone towards the crowd and said 'Ask them' for which the crowd promptly responded with a massive rupture of applause, which lasted several minutes. Nothing more needed to be said about the quality of the event and that capped off a wonderful night of the most successful Geethavani Awards event to date. Yet again the bar has been raised.

20 January 2008 - JHC OBA NSW Executive Committee Meeting
The JHC OBA NSW Executive Committee meeting was hosted by Ambikairajah at his residence on Sunday 20th January. 'Maestro' 'Wadya' 'Visharadh' Sarangan Sri Ranganathan was in attendance at this meeting to discuss the Geethavani Awards and its implementation for the JHC OBA Sydney Event on 8 June 2007. The sponsorship for the event was finalised at the meeting. [Minutes]