Cultural groups in Hyderabad hold more meets, competitions online

Hyderabad: With the pandemic impact showing no signs of slowing down, the performing arts fraternity, after an initial lull, have decided to combat their inactive phase with online programmes. The WhatsApp groups of its patrons are being flooded with messages on a regular basis, more so in the last month or so with virtual meets and programme announcements. The favourite activities seem to be plays, acting workshops and music events, which were earlier held in cultural venues or other locales where it was a regular feature during weekends.

In a first of its kind for the social media of the twin cities, one of the top Hyderabad-based Facebook groups - Spread the Word, Hyderabad (StWH), conducted a contest named 'Hyderabad Karaoke Rockstar,' a karaoke singing contest online, from June 28. The finals were conducted on Sunday on Zoom and streamed live to the FB group. Thousands of viewers watched the three-hour program online. Hyderabad Karaoke Club, the first karaoke club of Hyderabad, provided the technical support and the principal sponsor was Rockstar Eventzz, apart from generous contributions by the Karaoke Club members. The title of Hyderabad Karaoke Rockstar was won by 20-year-old Malavika Anand who performed mesmerising numbers with her mellifluous voice. The two runners up were Swathi Shaker and Rajesh Ganugala who also regaled online viewers with their thrilling singing. The event was coordinated by well-known Karaoke Jockey Cherry and judged by Vijay Anand Kumar Akunuri, who is the Founder and Admin of StWH. Jeremiah Jawahar, a known Karaoke singer was the observer who shared valuable inputs on the performances of the seven finalists.