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Chicago IL: Traditional Bharatnatyam repertoire is called Margam or journey. The dancers of Bharatam Academy of Dance took the audience on this delightful journey with a dazzling display of Bharatnatyam dances ranging from beginner to those of the highest professional calibre. The occasion was “Bharatam Dance Showcase 2013” at the Oswego East High School auditorium on March 23rd, 2013. In her introductory remarks, Guru Vanitha reiterated that art of Bharatnatyam is a rich continuum and living tradition of South India. It was apparent to any spectator that more than the students going through the art, the art had gone through the students, who graced the stage with poise and delight, displaying these rich traditions here in the USA. This was a testimony to Guru Vanitha, whose commitment to the art of Bharatnatyam is a testimony that for her, dance is a way of life. The emcee for the evening, Ranjani Rajan, welcomed the audience and introduced each of the dances with a brief description of the dance along with classical notations for the song that accompanied the dance. The program began with Nritta Anjali, a prayer and offering with pure classical dance elements, set to Adi Talam. After that, dancers […]

Chicago IL: In response to the recent wave of violence across the USA, the Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) has launched an ambitious movement, Non-Violence: No Higher Calling (NonVio) that was kicked off personally from Chicago by AOLF founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont the evening of Thursday, March 28, 2013. Significant participation of local grassroots civic organizations grappling with this pandemic, having Chicago as its epicenter, was capped by vocal endorsements from Illinois politicians and bureaucrats. Present were US Representatives Jan Schakowsky (9th District) and Danny Davis (7th), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar. Governor Pat Quinn’s resolution making March 28 “Non-Violence: No Higher Calling” Day across Illinois was introduced by AOLF teacher for the past 20 years Debra Poneman and read out by the Governor’s representative Teresa Marr, who presented a plaque to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in attestation. This NonVio campaign calls for individual pledges to acts of nonviolence to counter the growing violence epidemic (www.nonvio.org). The goal is to accumulate one billion pledges, which is100 pledges for every one act of violence recorded in the US each year. For Ravi Shankar, the […]

Bartlett, IL: Committed to the progress and growth of women worldwide, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha celebrated its sixth annual Midwest Women’s Conference held in Bartlett, Illinois on March 30, 2013. Over 450 women of all ages were in attendance at the conference which focused on this year’s theme of “Timeless Traditions: Celebrating the Past, Cultivating the Future”. The conference focused on understanding the glory of Hindu traditions, communicating them with ease, and nurturing future generations by preserving a priceless culture and traditions. The conference started with a traditional Hindu prayer for peace and candle lightening ceremony. A group, which included a mother and daughter, from the Kalapadma Dance Academy performed a traditional dance on stage, while a daughter and her mother shared hosting duties; it was evident that our youth is committed to maintaining their timeless traditions and family values. Dr. Aditi Sheth, a Psychiatrist at Cleveland Clinic, stated “At the end of the day —While it “takes a village” to raise a child, it is a parent’s responsibility, especially a mothers’ responsibility. It starts with us….. It starts in our homes –our values like touching feet of our elders, our choice of language…,our food, clothes …all of it”. In 1996, […]

Chicago IL: Adnan Sami staged a live concert on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at Sears Center, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, Ill. The multi-talented pianist, singer, composer, actor, and musician, also reputed to be the world’s fastest keyboardist, was back in Chicago after eight years with a spectacular new show presented by Combined Oil Company, Live 2U, and Desi Bazaar. Sami mesmerized an enthusiastic crowd of more than 3800 listeners for about 3 hours. British-born 39-year old Sami is of Pakistani origin, currently holds Canadian citizenship, and lives in Mumbai, India. His style merges Asian and Western music styles and instrumentation and ranges from classical to jazz to modern pop-rock. The first person to play Indian Classical music on the electric piano, Sami is featured in a documentary recently commissioned by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office amongst the ten most famous names from India and Pakistan, who have influenced Asian culture in the UK over the last fifty years. He is committed to experimenting with new styles and forms rather than be taken hostage by past successes. Sami started by singing “Allahu Akbar” and showing his virtuosity on the keyboard. He went on to sing the following songs: […]

Chicago IL: Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago (PCS) celebrated its annual Baisakhi festival Rangla Punjab 2013 at Copernicus Theater (5216 W. Lawrence Ave. Chicago) on Saturday, March 30, 2013. The program was divided into four quarters each with its own MC. Sikh associations of Milwaukee contributed several dance performances with an authentic rural flavor that were greeted with appreciative hoots by the Chicagoland audience. Awards were presented to several individuals for outstanding services to the Sikh community. Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford was guest of honor. PCS Founder and Past President Rajinder Singh Mago welcomed the audience. The first part of the program was emceed by Navraaz Kaur Basati, who kept switching between English and Punjabi, on behalf of her father PCS past president Thakar Singh Basati. Born in the US and married to a non-Desi, she recounted various travel anecdotes juxtaposing Punjabi, Indian, and American culture. Children of the Sikh Community of Chicago coordinated by Gurmukh Singh kicked off the evening with Shabad or Sikh hymns from the holy books. Avneet Kular, Gia Dhaliwal, Rasna Dhillon, Budna Kaur, Parlyn Banipal, and Asees Khaira of Navi Paneeri performed a dance choreographed by Sukhwinder Kaur. Avtar Singh Multani then sang “Jag […]

Chicago IL: Consul General of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Zaheer Pervaiz Khan hosted a reception to celebrate the 73rd Pakistan National Day with Diplomats, Chicago land entrepreneurs, community leaders, journalists, and eminent citizens to honor the sacrifices of Pakistan’s freedom fighters and to commemorate Founding Father Jinnah, for giving them a country where individual dignity and religious freedom is assured for all citizens. This event was held on Saturday, March 23, 2013 evening at Holiday Inn Oakbrook, 17 West 350 22nd Street, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. There was a full house of over 400 participants. The event was part of celebrations Pakistanis observed across the world on 23rd March to commemorate passage of Lahore Resolution in 1940, which laid the foundation for the creation of Pakistan. Americans politicians among the invited guests included Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, Illinois Finance Policy & Operations Director Sohair Omer, City Comptroller of Office of Chicago Mayor Amer Ahmad, and Immigrant Assistance Program Coordinator Nettie Lasko. Many members of the diplomatic community in Chicago also attended. The function began with recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Mansoor Ahmed followed by welcome speech by Samreen Khan. Mr. Zaheer Pervaiz Khan saluted the Pakistan flag. National anthems […]

Chicago IL: It was a day to remember for all the women who participated in the International Women’s Day which was organized by enthusiastic volunteers of TACG & ATA on March 23rd, 2013 at the Holiday Inn in Mount Prospect, IL. TAGC is a non-profit organization devoted to the awareness and promotion of Telugu Heritage and Culture in the mid-west region headquartered in Chicago. The Association was originally founded in 1971 and incorporated as a non-profit organization by the year 1978. What was once a brain child of small group of individuals, TAGC has grown to be one of the oldest and largest Indo-American organizations in the United States. ATA (American Telugu Association) is a non profit national organization and was founded in 1990, head quartertered in Chicago. The main purpose of the organization is to assist and promote literary, cultural, educational, religious, social, economic, health and community activities of the people of Telugu origin as well as to promote exchange programs for students, scientists, and professionals of telugu origin between the United States of America, Canada and India and other countries. For the first time TAGC together with American Telugu Association (ATA) put together this outstanding event which brought […]

Lemont, IL: Association of Rajasthanis in America (ARA) celebrated the Holi festival on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC), 10915 Lemont Rd, Lemont, Ill., with an evening of colorful dances, good food, and much socializing. The event was organized by outgoing ARA President Ram Saini and presided by incoming President Sunita Sarup. Quite a few non-Rajasthanis, e.g., from Madhya Pradesh, were present. To keep up the Holi spirit, many guests showed up with faces already colored with powders. Sarup invited the volunteers who had contributed to the evening’s success to join her before welcoming the audience and announcing the ARA program for this year: develop leaders in its youth wing, promote small businesses, expand community services, and a monthly newsletter. Ram Saini’s little daughter Riddhi presented the cultural program with these words: “I want to tell you about my dad. Last year he was president and did a lot of hard work. He is no longer president but still helps out a lot. I hope you enjoy the program and happy Holi!” Riddhi danced to the song Soniye Soniye from the movie Aksar. Dr. Virendra Mathur sang a Hindi song celebrating the advent of […]

Chicago IL: HTGC (Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago) in Lemont hosted its semi-annual fund raising dinner of 2013 on Saturday, March 16. This event had a different format from the previous fund raisers in so many ways. As the intent of the program was to bring in as many people into the auditorium as possible, the guests were treated to a nice dinner in buffet style before the start of the main event in the Gupta dining hall instead of the usual banquet style dinner during the event in the Rathi Auditorium. Also, this one provided a platform for as many as eight local singers and other accompanying artists who were able to show their musical talents during the program in all four southern languages in addition to Hindi. A capacity crowd of more than 400 people enjoyed the event that lasted over four hours and was co-sponsored by Ram Raghuraman of RR International. The program was off to a good start at 7:30 pm with an invocation prayer from temple priests Sri Saikrishna and Sri Vengatesan followed by brief welcoming addresses by Finance Committee chair Dr. Rohini Udupa and the president Mr. Tilak Marwaha. Both exhorted the audiences for […]

Chicago IL: The Indo-American Heritage Museum (IAHM) staged its annual “Amazing India” program on Sunday, March 17, 2013 from noon to 5 pm as part of Navy Pier’s “Neighborhoods of the World” program from Feb. 17 to April 7 that showcases the ethnic diversity of the immigrant communities across Chicagoland. Presented at the Crystal Gardens in partnership with the Consulate General of India, the show featured dances by Chitrahar Cultural Academy, Natya Dance Theatre, Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts, Anila Sinha Foundation, Satrangi Dance Group, Hareepa! Chicago, and Meher Dance Company. Madhoolica Dear and Happie Datt from IAHM introduced “Amazing India” and emceed the event. The venue was tightly packed right from noon and audience participation continued unabated till 5 pm. Choreographer-instructor Anjali Julka introduced Chitrahar Cultural Academy founded by her mother, the late Vichitra Nayyar. Two groups of children aged 3–6 and 7–12 performed to the following Bollywood songs: Bum Bum Bole, Bole Chudiyan, Navrai Majhi, and Sadi Gali. Julka’s sister choreographer-instructor Alka Nayyar danced to Piya Tose Naina Lage and Gun Gun Guna. Julka and Nayyar then led an interactive Bollywood Bhangra. Natya Dance Theatre offered three items, introduced by Nithya Sunder, beginning with “colors of rhythms” […]