Month: April 2013

Chicago IL: The Indian American Medical Association Charitable Foundation of Chicago (IAMACF) hosted its annual charity gala, themed “Basic Healthcare for the Uninsured,” on Sunday, April 28, 2013, at the Waterford Banquet Hall, 933 S. Riverside Drive, Elmhurst, Illinois. The event was well attended by physicians, politicians, Chicago’s prominent businessman, community leaders and general public. Despite the country’s challenging economy, more than four hundred members participated in the event and generously pledged donations totaling $100,000 which will benefit uninsured, low-income population who receive services from IAMACF’s clinic. Providing this year’s Keynote address was Honorable Julie Hamos, Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, with entertainment provided by Bollywood Sargam & Hitesh Master’s Orchestra Saregama. This year’s gracious Emcees were Mr. Ravi Baichwal of ABC’s Channel 7 and IAMACF’s very own, Dr. Annita John. The annual charity gala raises critical funds for IAMACF, to help operate its free community health clinic located in Chicago’s West Ridge community, which is the home to one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the city and state. The IAMACF clinic has been providing free, basic primary healthcare services on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for over 18 […]

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Chicago IL:UP Association (UPA) of Greater Chicago Proudly presented its Annual Grand Hasya-Ras Kavi Sammelan featuring leading poets from India. Kunwar Bechain, Suresh Awasthi and Deepak Gupta, on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at Hinsdale Community Center in Hinsdale, Illinois. UPA put up another incredible evening of classic Hindi poetry. The Uttar Pradesh Association (UPA) of Greater Chicago was established in 1991 with the objective of bringing together people interested in Uttar Pradesh by promoting Indian music, art and culture. Their web site www.upassociation.com is dedicated to all the people interested in these objectives. It provides a platform for dissemination of information for the people in Chicago land. Their Cultural Programs, Kavi Sammelans and picnics are big attractions in Chicagoland and draw participants from all over the country and India as well. Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey, Chairman, Board of Trustees and Founder President gave a brief introduction of UPA. Ravi Arora, current president delivered welcoming address followed by introduction of Kavi’s by Dr. Subhash Pandey, member of Board and and past president. All these 3 famous leading Kavi and Hasykar are revered for their awakening and entertaining conscious of millions with their humor containing deep penetrating Satire poetry and comedy. During their […]

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Chicago IL : Co-hosted by Saahil Exclusive and L.A. Tan “Krazy 2” Featuring Sunidhi Chauhan & Ali Zafar Live In Concert is a collective effort of Bhavesh Patel, Babu Patel, Mayur and Nick Patel. Sunidhi Chauhan and Ali Zafar rocked Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway; Hoffman Estates, IL on 8:30 PM, Friday April 26th, 2013 with yet another unforgettable concert. Sunidhi did not disappoint enthusiastic crowd of more for about 3and half hours. Sunidhi Chauhan sang all her hot new numbers (old and new) from various Bollywood films songs which rocked the crowd. The Sensational Sunidhi Chauhan came with her new Hit songs, “Halkat Jawani”, “Disco Deewane” and many more. Halkat Jawani from the movie Heroine, Disco Deewane from Student of the Year, and Chikni Chameli with Bappi Lahiri, which is a new track being released now. She will also be paying a special tribute, for the first time, to Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle with a yesteryear medley of their famous old song. Ali Zafar, Bollywood teen idol from Pakistan, performed in the USA for the first time. Zafar, the versatile actor of many talents, will perform beyond your typical song and dance show. The Hearthrob Ali […]

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Chicago IL: April 13 is Vaisakhi day (also spelled Baisakhi) which is a cultural festival in Punjab, India, but it is also significantly historic, and transformational event in the Sikh world. This day in 1699 in Anandpur Sahib Punjab, near Chandigarh, the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh changed the course of human history and civilization in that part of the world. He created the order of Khalsa and prescribed the Sikh way of life eliminating caste system and gender discrimination, adding to the follower’s external appearance the five articles of faith including unshorn hair and Kirpaan, building self esteem and valor in the common people oppressed by tyrannical rulers. The first five Khalsa (Panj Pyaare) known as Five Beloved Ones were initiated on this day. Each of them were of a different cast and came from different corners of India. Later the Guru bowed before the five initiates and asked them to initiate him, thus the Sikh initiation ceremony (Amrit Chhakna) got started. The Vaisakhi of 1699 brought into sharp focus, a universal concern for human and sacred rights of all people; That safeguarding human dignity, freedom of religion, and the right to worship, and ensuring that all God’s children […]

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Chicago IL: World Hindu Youth (WHY) association hosted a seminar on “Reframing Bharat” followed by another on a “New vocabulary to describe Vedic dharma” on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at Chinmaya Mission Badri campus located at 11S080 Kingery Hwy, Willowbrook, IL 60527. Presented by best-selling author Jeffrey Armstrong, also known as Kavindra Rishi, from Vancouver, the seminars aim to teach the younger generation how to speak confidently about Hindu dharma especially to its detractors. Vidya Naha of WHY presented Armstrong as a Vedantic seeker. He is also a poet and astrologer or “karma mechanic” as he also puts it. Starting with a prayer to Ganesha and invocation to the Guru, Armstrong immediately presented his unique credentials, as an American convert, to teach often bewildered Hindus-by-birth. Attracted by India’s patterns of thinking and feeling, and its compassionate culture, he soon became a “why” specialist, for “all the subjects I studied (language, psychology, science, etc.) took me to India.” As an outsider, he had to think through all these alien concepts and behavior from the foundations up, unable to take anything for granted. Whereas his Christian teachers never encouraged questions, the question-answer format is at the core of Hindu transmission. “I gave […]

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Rolling Meadows, IL: A command performance by playback singer and illustrious son of a legendary father, Nitin Mukesh had a capacity crowd in raptures for over four and half hours on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at The Meadows Club, 2950 W Golf Rd Rolling Meadows, IL. The concert titled Remembering Mukesh and presented by Dhrishti at the Meadows Club here was a tribute to the legendary Indian playback singer Mukesh. Nitin Mukesh is his son and an accomplished playback singer himself having sung several very popular numbers in different languages. He was accompanied by singers Manasi Paranjape, Namrata Seth and young second generation local singer Sajni Ganger. The program began with an introduction by host Shebani Kulkarni, the co-founder of Dhrishti and The Meadows Club in a beautifully lit and done up grand ballroom with soft lighting and multiple screens for the benefit of the viewers. She spoke about the legend of Mukesh and his journey for over five decades in the industry. She then introduced Nitin Mukesh and his band and the fireworks started immediately. Nitin Mukesh, a persona of great charm and immense skill started with a shloka and commenced what can only be termed as a command […]

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Chicago IL: On April 13, 2013, Telugu Association of Greater Chicago (TAGC) celebrated Ugadhi and Sri Rama Navami at Elgin High School, Elgin. The program kicked off with Siva Pasumarthi welcoming the audience on behalf of TAGC cultural committee followed by Annamacharya Keertana coordinated by Padamaja Krishna, and choreographed by Shruthi Das. President of TAGC, Ramesh Garapaty spoke to the audience during Presidents message and has thanked all the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make the event a grand success. He released the new Telugu calendar designed by Srinivas Pedamallu with several of the famous Indian women featuring on the cover page of each month in commemoration of TAGC’s celebration of first-ever women’s day. Sri.Tammareddy Bharadwaj President of AP film chamber of commerce, movie director, producer joined as a chief guest for the evening along with Sri.ShantiSwarup who was the anchor for Doordarshan a few years ago. ATA president Sri.Karunakar Madhavaram, Narendra Chemarla, Satya Kadimalla, Srinivas Pedamallu and Kalyan Anandula joined the event to felicitate Sri.Tammareddy Bharadwaj and Sri.Shanti Swarup. On behalf of TAGC, Sri.Tammareddy honored Mimicry Ramesh Jallarapu with Dhwanyanukarana Tapasvi in recognition of his over six thousand performances across the world. Mimicry Ramesh received standing ovation for […]

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Chicago IL: Winter was mild in Chicago this year as we were hit by only a couple of heavy snow storms. To welcome spring this year by enjoying a few crispy sunny days, we took our family spring break in sunny California and Nevada area. After landing at the Los Angeles airport, overnight stay at Rancho Cucamonga was relaxing. The three-hour drive across the desert to reach Las Vegas is rewarded with great views of the scenic Angels forest, mountains, and typical desert trees. Fabulous Las Vegas—the gambling and entertainment capital of the world—welcomes millions of visitors yearly to its various attractions. Every hotel resort in this Neon City is unique in its own way. We stayed at Circus-Circus, where the kids enjoyed Adventure Dome and the famous Midway arcade with its bunch of rides and fun games. With their varied restaurants, shops, entertainment shows, and of course gambling, the resorts have something for everyone. Shows like “Mac King”, a fabulous family show, win you over with fun, laughter, and magic thrills. About three hours of driving towards west from Las Vegas takes you to the “Grand Canyon West Rim.” After just 30 miles on US 93, we stopped over […]

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Chicago IL: Tri-State Telugu Association celebrated its Ugadi and Sri Ramanavami festivities with much pomp and show on April 6th 2013 at the HTGC (Rama Temple) in Lemont, Illinois. The theme for the event was “New Beginnings” and covered Chaitramu, Ugadi, Vasanta Navaatrulu, Sri Ramanavami and Sri Sita Ramula Charitra. Sri. Raghu Angara, the Cultural Coordinator for this gala event, organized 38 creative, innovative and many unique programs in which approximately 330 kids and adults participated. The auditorium was packed with approximately 700 people. The audience was enthralled with a variety of programs ranging from skits, dances, songs and dance-dramas. The program started in the authentic Telugu cultural norm of Panchanga Sravanam by the Rama temple priest followed by the Ganesha invocation dance “Muddakaratha Modakam” choreographed by Smt. Asha Acharya Adiga. Sri. Raghu Angara always endeavors to teach the new generation kids, Indian values and the great Indian Mythology. Continuing the spirit of the evening Smt. Jayashree Tatavarti directed a skit “Mana Illu – Mana Adarshalu” which focussed on values regarding respect for parents, gurus, and guests – all of whom are equal to God. Other programs which were very well executed were Jo Jo Rama, Bhadrasaila Ramamandira, choreographed by […]

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Chicago IL: Hari Om Mandir in Medinah, Ill., celebrated Baisakhi from noon on Sunday, April 14, 2013, with bhajans. Also known as Vaisakhi, Vaishakhi, or Vasakhi, the festival is celebrated across the Indian subcontinent. For Hindus, it is the start of the solar New Year, and is observed with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. Hindus plant poles (wrapped in flags of gold-embroidered silk) in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass, copper or silver on top. For an auspicious start to the New Year, some devotees had arrived early to have their prized possessions specially blessed with prayers performed by the temple priests. One family could be seen outside in the car park performing puja together on the bonnet of their sparkling new Lexus. Another priest was returning brand new clothes after blessings to women devotees. Tulsidas, Meera, and other classical and film bhajans were being sung continuously already from forenoon. Monica Sharma and Meghna Sharma, who had danced Bhangra just two days earlier at Asian American Awards Gala at Northeastern Illinois University, sang Bhajans at the beginning. Temple President Brij Sharma praised the two devoted sisters for being so exemplary in their contributions to Indian dance and […]

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