May Ball
21 May 2009
The arrival of HMA Ships Sydney and Ballarat in Kochi, India on the 'Northern Trident 2009 (NT09) deployment coincided with the Hindu celebration of the month of May. Indian festivals are world renowned for their colour and energy and, as the Officers were lucky enough to discover, the celebrations conducted by the Indian Navy were no exception.
On the 10 May 2009, Indian Officers and their families invited Commanding Officers CAPT Peter Leavy and CMDR Kevin Turner, their respective Heads of Departments and other Officers to the Naval Officers’ Institute to participate in their May Celebration Ball.
“The event was attended by both the Indian Officers and their families, and we really appreciated being included in such a significant community activity. Everyone in the community seemed to be participating in the celebration in some capacity,” said Ballarat’s Marine Engineering Officer LCDR Richard Austin.
The night commenced with dances depicting a traditional Hindu story of Shiva and the Hunter. The costumes worn by the performers during the dance were intricately designed, brightly coloured and included full face masks to allow the dancers to fully transform into the Hindu deities they were representing.
The traditional dances were followed by a modern dance demonstration, specially choreographed by the children of the Indian Officers, for their Australian visitors. Their moves to the modern music were clearly founded in the traditional dance steps displayed earlier in the night and, amid much giggling, the children keenly taught Ballarat’s MIDN Theresa Wells all the steps when she joined them on stage.
“The evening was an interesting mix of traditional culture combined with a modern community celebration, which included a DJ who got everyone up and dancing after our traditional Southern Indian dinner.”
“The DJ provided a particular highlight for the Australian officers by playing a ‘traditional’ song of our own; Men at Work’s Land Down Under. Although it was an unfamiliar tune to the locals, with encouragement from the Aussies present, it was met with an enthusiastic response on the dance floor,” said Ballarat’s SBLT Phil Van Neutegem.
With the celebration set to continue into the night, the only disappointment of the night for the Officers of Sydney and Ballarat was the need to leave the celebration early and return to their ships at Kochi port.
