It was a crisp March evening when the guests started stepping in...

Orchard Hotel's Ballroom was all decked up and waiting to dish out a most stellar event...
The evening would go on to forge bonds of new friendships, showcase the wonderful talents of people from diverse backgrounds, yet having similar roots and above all usher in a fun-filled Spring season.

Before we knew it, the pre-cocktails were in full swing. The Parsi ladies glittered elegantly in their stunning garas and tasteful jewellery while the men couldn't have looked more regal in their crisp white Daglis and the children looked as beautiful and as excited as always.

The Iranians and Central Asians couldn't have been left far behind. The ladies' gorgeous pure silk creations fitted beautifully on their graceful silouhettes and the men looked dapper in their Armanis and Zegnas.

Special thanks to Piloo, Nelly, Suna, Roshan and Anahita who so kindly helped at the door to guide our esteemed guests to their table numbers.

At precisely 7.30 p.m. the doors flew open and the guests floated into the ballroom and took their seats after gliding by slowly to take a look at the Haft-Seen and Haft-Sheen tables tastefully set-up by our Iranian friend Elahe Talebi and her daughters Azam and Isun.

Gentle mingling and the lilting sound of laughter filled the room and now it was only a matter of time before the guests of honour would parade in and the festivities would kick-off.

And so they did... H.E. S R Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore, Mrs Nathan and Mr. George
Yeo, Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs strode in regally among thunderous applause and the animated pitter-patter of little feet all excited to take their first look at the stars.

Thereafter, the evening unfolded like a dream. Anchored beautifully by Mrs Jasmine Dastoor and
Mrs Shenaz Dabu, the events took centerstage and glided on as smooth as silk. Our PZAS President
Mrs Dilnawaz Zaveri made a wonderful welcome speech and ushered in the festive line-up for the evening.

From the opening slideshow on Persian history, art and culture to the stunningly choreographed Iranian traditional dance by Iranian sisters Azam and Isun Talebi and from the groovy "New Dawn" belly-dance act performed by the
little girls and young ladies from Rhythmic Fitness and choreographed by Soheila Forughian to the superbly styled and yet rib-tickling fashion show put-up by our very own in-house talents every act just floated on spell-bindingly.

Then it was dinner time and the lavish spread was unveiled. The guests enjoyed the delicious Persian meat, fish and vegetarian preperations whipped-up by the award-winning Shiraz restaurant, which added a beautiful touch of authenticity to the Central Asian festival of Spring as also the lip-smacking continental creations dished out by the chefs of the Orchard Hotel. Not to be missed and much worth mentioning were the wide range of mouth-watering
desserts particularly the Iranian Baklava sweet.

The action continued with the the Talebi sisters once again showing off their wide range of talents with an act on the Daf, the traditional Iranian drum and a traditional music ensemble from Kazakhstan performing on their traditional guitars, these being students from the Lee Kuan Yew school of Public Policy and the Nanyang Technological University.

This was then followed by the token ceremony. Our association presented H E President Nathan and Minister Yeo with a stunning picture book...
Parsis-The Zoroastrians of India by Sooni Taraporevala and they also received tokens of gratitude from
Shiraz Managing Director Amin Bagheri and our very generous sponsor Mr Zubin Karkaria, who is well on his way to setting up a branch of a huge international conglomerate here in Singapore. Mr. Russi Ghadiali, our
Vice-President, also presented H E President Nathan and Minister Yeo with the first copies of SOUTH ASIAN Link;
Connecting South Asians Worldwide. This issue was especially printed for our Nowruz occasion by Institute of
South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore.

Thereafter, Mr. Ghadiali took to the podium and delivered a vote of thanks to all the members, their families and all those who had worked so hard, in order to make this function the huge success that it turned out to be.

Numerous photoshoots (particularly with droves of excited children) and a few autographs later, the dignitaries took our leave, which then threw open the doors to mischief. For as they strode out, a belly dancer from Shiraz restaurant shimmied in and needless to say the women looked on in awe, the children looked on spell-bound and the men were besides themselves with joy. It was a rivetting act, which got everyone into the mood for a jig and jive and as the DJ
mixed the hip-swinging Iranian and Bollywood numbers, the stage thundered with the moves of the real stars... us.

The evening literally swayed on as we danced our way into the wee hours of the morning and were still left begging for more... but alas... our feet ached and sleep beckoned and so we knew it was time to call it a day.

We had done it... we had pulled it off... and how... we couldn't have asked for a better Nowruz celebration and we knew we had to do it again... and by the grace of the one Almighty who draws us all together... we will come together again next year to celebrate Nowruz with our friends from Iran and Central Asia and show to the world that... small is truly beautiful.

NOWRUZ MUBARAK