Nick,
mikka nanRi for your post
My thoughts...
We are not going to be in a hall, but in the home of a fellow member--a musical home at that, and the hosts are the ones who have to be consulted on anything concerning the meet at their gracious home.
Besides our wishes, Ravikiran himself has asked for Uday's demo. This comes under music.
As for the intros, just the names will suffice, because most of us know each other very well through the forum and outside of it too! Newer members can say more about themselves, adding a few lines.
If only we can get a little music from the host family too!
We will have more time left to interact with each other this way--the best way to make it a rasikas' meet, rather than a meeting held in a hall!
Delighted that our admin Ramakrishnan is going to be there. His presence can be utilized well by our interacting with him individually.
All this cannot happen, in my view, if things get formal, eating up a lot of precious time.
In fact, all of us have to circulate and make it a point of conversing with every member present!
At the beginning, we can say our names clearly and loudly, so that we can recognize each other by sight (some of us seniors may ask you to say your names again,when we chat!).
If not, we are only going to be waving to our friends from the forum that we know, not being able to talk during speeches and music.
Finally, it's the hosts who have a say in this, more than any of us
