AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 81 of 167 well-known play back singer and his son is a Sapper presently doing his degree course in CME. The next item was an extremely popular Hindi song from an old picture – Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai. The song was none other than “ Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam” sung by - Smt Prasanna Raju - Daughter of Col SR Raju. And Prasanna did a wonderful job, when one realises that the redoubtable Lata Mangeshkar rendered the original. One almost felt that Lataji herself was present. Prasanna is the daughter of Col SR Raju, the warden of the Youth Hostel. Prasanna – like all children of service parents studied in KVs at various stations. Discovering her interest in music, while at Jabalpur, Col Raju shifted her to learn classical Hindustani music at the Sharada Sangeetha Maha Vishva Vidyalaya, which was affiliated to the Allahabad University. After her graduation she was selected by Air India as a Customer Service Executive. She moved over to Chennai, and continues her hobby of music and entertaining people with her melodious voice. As we are in Tamil Nadu, it was only but natural, that there should be a song in Tamil. And what better song could there be than one in praise of Raja Raja Cholan. As is well known, Rajaraja Chola I was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He laid the foundation for the growth of the Chola Empire, by conquering the kingdoms of southern India. The Chola Empire extended as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island. He streamlined the administrative system with the division of the country into various districts and by standardizing revenue collection through systematic land surveys. He built the magnificent Brihadisvara Temple i n Thanjavur and through it enabled wealth distribution amongst his subjects. His successes enabled his son Rajendra Chola I to extend the empire even further. Raja Raja Cholan, an Ilayraja number rendered in the mellifluous voice of Sqn Ldr Unni – the architect of the evening’s programme. Unni graduated from Loyola College, Chennai. He thereafter obtained a Masters in Social Work, from the prestigious Madras School of Social Work. Armed with two degrees he joined the Air Force and was with the Air Traffic Control for the better part of fourteen years, before he decided to return to the Civvy Street and immersed himself with Corporate Training. Right from childhood he had a burning ambition and passion for music. Throughout his student days both in school and college, there was no occasion when he did not take part in a musical event. While in service, he kept up his interest in this art form and regaled services crowds on