Cultures come alive at community conventions

Representatives of the renowned dabbawalas of Mumbai with Dr. Pawan Agrawal (center), author of the book "Mumbai Dabbawalas" at the Marathi Convention.

For Americans at large the July 4th weekend is a celebration of their freedom and democracy but for thousands of Indian Americans it has come to be a celebration of their native culture so unique to the respective states they hail from in India.

Thus, community conventions over the years have not only come to symbolize the unity in the diverse cultures of India, they have also become mega platforms to perpetuate the rich performing arts, traditions and family values; showcase the many talents of young Indian Americans and celebrate their many achievements and successes in their adopted land. They have also come to serve as networking opportunities for the young to hopefully find life partners.

Convention venues over the weekend turn into melas of the many sights, sounds and aromas of traditional wear, rich native languages and delectable food.

Among the prominent community conventions held in different parts of the country were the Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali and Oriya conventions. Each of these conventions brought out political leaders, celebrities and talent from India, held educative and informative seminars and made the weekend meaningful and fun for the participating youth.

The huge turnout at each of these conventions was proof of the desire of the Indian Diaspora to stay connected to their roots and also their zest for life even in times of a recession.

TELUGU CONVENTION

The essence of Telugu culture came alive at the 17th biennial convention of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) at the Rosemont Convention Center in Chicagoland held July 2-4.

In what turned out to be a veritable festival of native arts, music, dance and a celebration of enterprise and achievement, more than 5,000 natives of Andhra Pradesh gathered to reiterate their cultural identity and pass on its values to the next generation.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn addressing the convention participants.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, chief guest on the opening day of the convention was honored with a plaque by Prabhakar Choudary Kakarala, president of TANA. In his address, Gov. Quinn said Illinois was abundantly enriched by the contributions of Telugus. "The presence of such a big gathering of colorfully dressed Telugu people and the presentation of such an enjoyable dance by talented artists symbolizes their rich culture," he said. He urged TANA to keep up its humanitarian and cultural activities. The governor later distributed Awards of Excellence to 23 recipients for their achievements. Galla Arunakumari, the Andhra Pradesh minister for roads and buildings, lit the lamp to mark the start of the convention.

Eulogizing the Telugu community's contributions in India and the U.S., keynote speaker Indian Consul General Ashok Kumar Attri urged the Telugu Americans to keep up their humanitarian and other activities. Y.R. Venugopal Reddy, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a keynote speaker at the Business Seminar, noted the significant growth in the Indian economy in recent years and underscored the importance of infrastructural development to achieve a higher GDP. Among other speakers, poet and lyricist Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry highlighted the role of culture in society; Justice Tamada Gopala Krishna of the Andhra Pradesh High Court appealed to every nonresident Indian to adopt at least one village and help in its development; and I.V. Subba Rao, the chief election officer Andhra Pradesh, outlined measures taken to educate voters to ensure free and fair elections.

Lifetime achievement awards were also presented to NRI industrialist Galla Ramachandra Rao Naidu and renowned singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam.

There was a series of cultural presentations from local artists as well as those from Andhra Pradesh starting with the inaugural ballet presented by over 125 local artists. Bharata Natyam and Kathak performances were eyecatching as were the talent contests. The TANA-Maa TV Super Singers Finals event went on past midnight, with Dheeraj Verma emerging as the winner; Adarsha Menon was the first runner-up and Praveen Kumar was second runner-up. The judges were film personalities - Mano, Ashok Teja, Chandrabose and Venkanna Goreti.

Another highlight of the convention was the arts and crafts exhibition. Seetharam Maddali, an acclaimed photographer and Krishna Reddy, an etching artist, were the featured artists.

Though most attendees enjoyed the convention many expressed disappointment that some of much publicized events like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam concert, appearances by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, telecom wiz Sam Pitroda, filmstar N.T. Rama Rao Jr. did not take place.

ORIYA CONVENTION

A choreographed classical dance performance at the Oriya Convention.

Seminars, symposiums, workshops, round table conferences and mentorships and a cultural extravaganza marked the 40th Annual Convention of the Oriya community held under the banner of the Orissa Society of the Americas (OSA) at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial and Marriott Hotel in Trenton, New Jersey, July 3-4.

Thousands of people of Orissa origin gathered over a fun-filled weekend to mingle and perpetuate the organization's goals of promoting Oriya culture in the United States and to facilitate the exchange of information between Orissa and North America.

The many seminars focused on the development of Orissa, women's empowerment in Orissa, propagation of Oriya culture among non-resident Oriya community and youth entrepreneurship addressed by over 45 distinguished and knowledgeable speakers.

The Seminars were aimed at translating ideas into reality; featuring topics of practical usefulness and long term value beyond the convention and most importantly, an enjoyable and valuable experience for the Oriya Diaspora in the Americas and Orissa.

Designed around the theme "Saata Daria Pare" (Across the seven seas), the convention also featured a Broadway-like musical presentation by more than 40 participants who seamlessly fused traditional and modern dance forms.

Besides the beautifully staged classical dance forms, it was the many folk dances of Orissa including the Sambalpuri, Ghoda, Paika Naacha and other tribal expressions of art that brought the convention celebrations to life.

Other performances that enthralled the audiences were "Mahanadi to Mississippi", ‘Kaali Jaai', drama and dance competitions and a live performance by Baboo Panigrahi.

TAMIL CONVENTION

A play depicting the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils at the Tamil Convention.

Adistinctive political undertone marked the annual convention of the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), held July 3-5 at the Ferst Center for Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jothi Kannan, an expert in Tamil Nadu’s indigenous marshal art "Silambam" demonstrating his skills during the Tamil Convention.

The theme for this year's convention was "Realize and React to protect the rights" an obvious reference to the current status of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the critical need to protect the rights of the suffering millions of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Ellen Shander, a physician who spoke passionately on the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka emphasized the importance of continuing the struggle until a free Tamil Eelam is established. Famous Tamil poet, Vairamuthu expressed his hope that the conditions of Tamils in Sri Lanka would improve and the Tamil Eelam would someday soon be a reality.

The Project Director for India's Mission to the moon, Dr. Mayilsamy Annadurai emphasized the importance of Tamil as a medium of instruction impressing the audience by the fact that he is spending part of his time for the development of Tamil language to effectively express scientific concepts in simple and easy to use manner.

Besides the scintillating Tamil poetry and literary sessions, participants were regaled to Carnatic music, Bharata Natyam, folk dances, veena recital, dramas by the member associations of FeTNA. The drama enacted by the South Carolina Tamil Sangam deserves special mention for its originality in depicting the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Jothi Kannan, an expert in Tamil Nadu's indigenous self defense marshal art known as "Silambam" (fighting with a stick) demonstrated the various procedures in his style of Silambam.

There were also interesting programs like Tamil Spelling Bee and Tamil Speech competition for the youngsters and Tamil Jeopardy. There were a number of parallel sessions such as Entrepreneurs Forum, Continuing Medical Education, Workshop by the International Forum for Information Technology in Tamil (INFITT), World Tamil Organization, Alumni Association meetings of Vellore Institute of Technology, Anna University and Madurai Kamarajar University, Integration and Coordination of Tamil schools in USA etc.

More than 1200 attendees came from 35 states of USA and Canada to avail of the opportunity to renew old acquaintances and make new friends among the Tamil Community.

The Convention also celebrated the 100th birth centenary of the late Arignar Anna, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The convention was eventful, interesting, useful and informative. The attendees left Atlanta thinking about the next convention, which will be held in Hartford, CT in July 2010.

MARATHI CONVENTION

A Singles Meet for the youth participants at the Marathi Convention.

Love of Marathi theater and the language brought more than 5,000 Marathi speaking Americans with their roots in Maharashtra, to one of the biggest Marathi conventions to be organized by the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM) in North America over the July 4th long weekend in Philadelphia.

Downtown Philadelphia was painted bright and colorful with delegates strutting around in traditional Maharashtrian outfits as they celebrated the culture and performing arts from their home state. The convention was headlined by legendary singer Asha Bhonsale besides a host of celebrities including actors Nana Patekar, Vikram Gokhale and Mahesh Manjrekar.

Chief guest of the convention, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray told the opening day gathering at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, "I thought there was nothing more to US than a concrete jungle but after seeing all of you here I feel like coming back again and again because it feels like home."

Reiterating the Marathi pride, Thackeray asked Maharashtrians settled around the world to work together with their compatriots back home for the development of Maharashtra. The state, he said, was in turmoil and faced many problems, the worst being the growing suicides among its poverty stricken farmers.

Anuj Gupta, Deputy Director of Performance Management at the Philadelphia Mayor's Office, spoke about the economic benefits of holding a convention of this scale to the city.

Dr. Shrinivas Thanedar, grand sponsor of the convention and chairman, board of advisors for BMM said there was unprecedented attendance at the convention despite the economic downturn. "Marathi people love their theater, their music and literature, which is what holds them together," he said.

BMM president Girish Thakar said the idea of having a biennial convention of the community was to keep the native culture and language alive not just through entertainment but also by bringing out the social issues concerning them.

The Mumbai Dabbawalas, who deliver lunch boxes from homes to office goers – renowned around the world for their organizational and time management skills, were represented at the convention by the office bearers of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charitable Trust.

A book ‘Dabbawalas of Mumbai: Masters of Supply Chain Management', authored by Dr. Pawan G. Agrawal, CEO of the Trust was released by Uddhav Thackeray during the opening ceremony.

The significant aspect of the convention was the Speed Dating singles meet for the youth as also seminars on ‘How to wear a sari', ‘Marathi language learning' and ‘Marathi cooking'. All participants were encouraged to practice speaking Marathi by pledging to speak as much as one can during the convention.

The next BMM convention, it has been decided will be held in Chicago in 2011.

BENGALI CONVENTION

Models wearing traditional Bengali sarees at a fashion show during the Bengali Convention.

For the more than 6,000 people of Bengali origin in North America, the North American Bengali Conference held July 1-4 in San Jose, California was a time to forge new friendships and renew old ones while soaking in a rich tradition filled celebration of culture and learning a thing or two through a business forum.

While the Business Forum brought together experts, consumers, academics and business leaders to engage the avid participants in informative panels and workshops, the cultural aspect of the convention brought back the golden era of Bengali music, semi-classical and classical performing arts.

Fashion shows, dramas, concerts by the renowned singers Runa Laila and Shaan, literary arts and film screenings were the other highlights of the four-day extravaganza making the convention a trip worth remembering for the nostalgia- filled Bengali Americans.

A fashion show put up by Telugu American youth from
Chicago during the Telugu Convention.

Interestingly, there was huge participation from the Bangladeshi American community, who share similar cultures and traditions as the Bengalis in India.

The Bengali Convention too held a series of events designed for the next generation of Bengali Americans. These included Bengali's Got Talent, meetand- greet occasions, a college and career forum, discussions on environmental issues, a workshop on LGBT Bengalis, a date auction and a cruise to boot.

Local talent stood its own against the more established talent from India for the many choreographed dance performances.

A business forum had panels discussing healthcare, green tech and financial planning.

Even as the participants left the convention to share memories, experiences and pictures, the organizers are already planning the next convention in 2010, this time in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[ BY LAVANYA GARIKINA ]