Category: Press releases

India, Andhra Pradesh: During the last two weeks of January, 2013, an incredibly dedicated and faith-filled couple from Andhra Pradesh, India, Dr. Geetha and Tom Chitta, extended the blessed opportunity for me to visit Hyderabad, Porumamilla, Kadpa, Chennai, Velankanni and Delhi and personally witness the extensive work of the members of the Catholic Church and the vibrant life of India– in all its forms. As Director of Mission Awareness for the Archdiocese of San Antonio since 1991, this was, by far, the most amazing chance to grow in my own mission awareness, gather photos, stories, and new friends, and strengthen my faith convictions during this Year of Faith. Due to the Chitta family’s thoughtful planning and life-long networking, I traveled with a great team of four other Americans to schools, hostels, homes for the elderly, centers for disabled, a rural out-door health clinic, and a home for AIDS orphans. At each site, we were welcomed like dignitaries, with garlands of fragrant flowers, songs, traditional dances and applause from hundreds of beautiful, well-behaved children and gracious, grateful adults. Tom and Geetha, along with the Holy Spirit, enabled us to meet countless priests, sisters, school directors, students, novices, along with spiritual gurus, […]

Aurora, IL: On the auspicious occasion of Maha Sivarathri 2013, Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, IL, organized spectacular cultural celebrations ‘Shivoham’ on Saturday, March 9th, 2013, at the temple auditorium. Maha Sivarathri is a very important event for the throngs of devotees of Lord Siva. Hindus pray to Parameswara with impeccable devotion and concentration during this special period with fasting, and staying awake all night chanting His prayers on Sivarathri Day. “Shivoham” unique classical and contemporary dance performances by professional teachers of Chicago land, in the Indian classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi have been presented in the Veluchamy auditorium. The event began with the melodious chanting of Lingashtakam by students of Smt. Sunitha Vissapragada, Artistic Director of Balanandam Group. This was followed by Lalita Sangeetam composed by Late Sri Palagummi Viswanathan and performed by the students of Rajaveena School of Music under the able guidance of Smt. Rajeswari Pariti. Highlighting the evening was a unique presentation, Ambalavaanan – depicting Bhakta Kannappa’s love & devotion towards Lord Shiva, an electrifying performance by Joshua George student of Poonam Mahesh, artistic Director or Nrityanant Performing arts institute. Poonam & Joshua presented yet another scintillating performance of “Ardhanareeshwaram”. Natya […]

Chicago IL: The Asian American Coalition of Chicago honored Indian Americans Mohina Ahluwalia, and Isha Jog, at their 30th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration, Saturday, February 23, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont Illinois. This year’s gala event themed “Celebrating Three Decades of Unified Leadership and Services” was hosted by the Vietnamese American community of Chicago, with Mr. Doug Nyugen and Dr. N.T. Hieu serving as event chairpersons. Mrs. Mohina Ahluwalia, Chief Executive Officer Alfa Manufacturing Industries Inc., Past Chairperson, Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago, and with a stellar record of community service won the Indian American Exemplary Community Service Award. Ms. Isha Jog, Senior, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Distinguished Young Woman of Illinois 2013 and Miss Teen Illinois American Elegance, and a dance artist won the Indian American Youth Who Excel Award. Mrs. Lourdes Mon, an educationist and an Asian TV show producer was honored with the Pan Asian American Award. The Hon. James Thompson, Former Governor State of Illinois received the Coalition’s GRAND ASIAN AWARD. This award is periodically presented to someone of non-Asian descent, who has made significant contributions to the Asian Pacific American community. “DePaul University Bhangra Team” presented by […]

Chicago IL: Hari Om Mandir locked at 6N020 Medinah Rd, Medinah, IL celebrated Mahashivaratri on Sunday, March 10, 2013, with bhajans from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Despite heavy rain and thick fog, devotees had been trickling in before then to perform worship of the Shiva linga on this auspicious day when the ascetic god finally awoke from his deep meditation to marry his consort Parvati for the welfare of the world. As the rain died down, more families arrived and the hall was almost full by the time a temple committee member attired in the ascetic garb of Lord Shiva appeared, wielding the trident and playing the damaru (small hourglass-shaped hand-drum), with his wife as Parvati dressed in auspicious red, to receive worship and bless the assembly seated before them. Devotees queued up to worship the linga at two different locations within the temple: at the separate shrine to Shiva and Parvati behind the primary sanctums dedicated to the manifestations of Lord Vishnu and at another temporary linga that had been specially installed in front and to the right of the main shrines. The latter had large cardboard backdrops of the snow-covered Himalayas to transport the devotees to his abode […]

Lemont IL: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC) at Lemont, IL, celebrated the Lord of Dance (Nata-Raja) on Mahashivaratri with a cultural program that saw wide participation from across Chicagoland, even all the way from Iowa. Classical styles from both South and North India were represented, as also old devotionals rendered through contemporary fusion. Performers ranged from six-year old kids to mothers dancing with their adult daughters. As befitting this festival of ascetic Shiva’s awakening from the depths of prolonged meditation to the world of the senses, most items portrayed the god deploying his limbs in ecstasy (tandava), sometimes accompanied by consort Parvati’s gentle (lāsya) dance. Following a dhun (folkish melody) from HTGC cultural committee, there was a tabla ensemble performed by Hersh Pathak, Darsh Kapadia, Shiven Gupta, Akhil Ghosh, Ayush Panda, Dhruv Chepakasseril, and Amogh Raula from Jugalbandi Academy of Tabla and Kathak Dance in Naperville. Founder and choreographer Bindu Pathak has been teaching in Chicagoland since 1995. This was followed by “Om Namah Shivaya” a Kathak performance featuring Shreya Surti, Sahej Sharma, and Anusha Singh. Tabla ensemble comprising Athyun Nagelli, Amal Ghosh, Shivansh Padhy, Hersh Pathak, Harsh Sharma, Amogh Raula, and Pragya Mahishweri then performed together (jugalbandi) with […]

Chicago IL: Overseas Friends of BJP-USA warmly invited the general audience to participate in the live speech of Hon. Narendra Modi Via Satellite on Saturday March 09, 2013 at Holiday Inn, Rolling Meadows. Purpose of this event was to make a strong Indian lobby in Washington and also send a message from BJP to American Indians. Gujarat State Chief Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the Indian Diaspora from Karnavati, Ahmedabad. The topic of his speech was “Role of Indian Diaspora In the Development of India As Envisioned by Swami Vivekananda”. Gujaratis as well as Americans attended this event. Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s 52 minute speech was in Hindi. Shri Narendra Modi addressed the gathering at 2 Venues simultaneously (Holiday Inn, Rolling Meadows, IL and TV Asia Auditorium, National Edison Road, NJ) via video conference. In addition to this, this speech was viewed by a large number of people across USA and Canada. In India, all leading TV channels telecast the program LIVE, allowing a large number of people to view this memorable event. Promoter at NJ was Jayesh Patel, Rakshpal Sood and R. P. Singh while at Chicago it was Goyal Amar Upadhyay, Kanwal Veer, Chandrakant Patel, Jayesh Patel (President), Chandrakant […]

Chicago IL: The students from the Indian Students Association (ISA) India Night Flame Fair Awards 2013 on Friday, March 8, 2013 at University of Illinois Forum, 725 w Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL. A sold out, dynamic Cultural Show that showcased dance styles prevailing all across India and featured other talents as well such as singing and verity of cultural dance mix with Bollywood renowned songs. This year, the show’s theme was Tribute to renowned Bollywood legend filmmaker late Shree Yash Chopra. Along with Bollywood Music, the show was fused with mainstream hits by American artists that helped to define this growing generation of Indian students. The attendance was house full. The Indian Student Association at UIC welcomes audiences to India Night 2013! This event showcases traditional and modern dance numbers, entertaining musical pieces, and comedy skits! India Night helps preserve, promote, and celebrate South Asian culture on the UIC campus. India Night was dedicated to the late Yash Raj Chopra, who showed us the true meaning of passion. Audience included multiethnic things included Family and friends of performers packed the UIC Forum on campus for the show. The auditorium was hustling with excited Parents and Friends of the performers and […]

Chicago IL: Share a Smile Chicago is a registered non-profit, charity organization with a 501C status. It has a unique global vision to share and give back to the less privileged seniors by identifying those who are most vulnerable and underserved, first within the Barrington community and then reaching out to a wider area. Share-a-smile Chicago works in conjunction with BACOA (Barrington Area Council for Old Age) to deliver a hot and nutritious meal to support home-bound seniors and people with disabilities, allowing them to live independently in their own homes, with dignity and self-respect. We also organize a monthly luncheon hosted by one of the 13 committee members for a group of seniors so that they can meet up socially. During these luncheons we usually have a guest speaker, musician or play a game of bingo. These get-togethers are stimulating and help our senior citizens foster connections with their peers and have some fun. Once a year, Share-a-smile Chicago organizes a fund-raiser to benefit a senior citizen project. In the preceding years our fundraisers have contributed to a senior home called Sukhdam, located on the outskirts of Dehli, India; to welfare projects in Africa; to an international eye care […]

Chicago IL: Ali Zafar, Bollywood teen idol from Pakistan, will perform in the USA for the first time on Friday 26 April 2013 at the Sear Center Arena. He will be joined by singer Sunidhi Chauhan, who will be likewise presenting all her hot new numbers at this spectacular show hosted by Saahil and LA Tan Zafar, the versatile actor of many talents, will perform beyond your typical song and dance show. The Hearthrob Ali Zafar will rock you with his dance numbers famous song Madhubala from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Tere Bin Laden, London Paris New York, and sing his super hit tracks like “Channo”,”Jhoom”, “Masty”, “Huqa Pani” and many more surprises by these dynamic stage performers!Ali Zafar, who has acted in 5–6 Bollywood films. Chicago audiences will get to enjoy numbers from comedy film Chashme Badur directed by David Dhawan, which is yet to be released. Zafar performed on Feb. 17 at the “Temptations Reloaded 2013” festival in Muscat with Katrina Kaif and Shahrukh Khan. The Sensational Sunidhi Chauhan is coming to you 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, […]

Chicago IL: Air India (AI) Midwest held its annual awards program for about 150 attendees on Friday, March 1, 2013 at Meadows Club, Rolling Meadows, IL. Guests were seated at tables allocated by their Indian city of origin. Regional manager for the Americas Riwo Norbu had flown in from New York to join Air India Midwest Manager Rishikant Singh in presenting plaques to travel agents, who had generated the most revenue for the airline for fiscal year 2011–2012. Guests were treated to a quiz, a game, photography sessions, and dinner, followed by dancing on the floor. Rishikant Singh, who has 25 years of experience with AI, clarified that such recognition is an incentive to business partners to do even better and introduced Norbu, who quipped that he “expects a better performance next year.” Singh then introduced the rest of the Chicago AI team. A rapid slideshow on the past achievements into the 81st year of service and current operations of India’s national carrier followed starting with the course charted out by JRD Tata’s vision and his maiden flight in 1932. Centered in Delhi and Mumbai, AI and its partners service more than fifty destinations with 101 operational aircraft including the […]

Chicago IL: After his noon discourse on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 at the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago center in Bartlett (435 N. Route 59, Bartlett, IL 60103), Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai accorded Asian Media USA and TV Asia a live interview about his life, teachings, and mission. Gurudevshri was preaching across the US for about 3 weeks (from 12 Feb to 3 March), visiting New Jersey, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He was in Chicago from Feb 23–26 and gave a public discourse in Gujarati on Saturday evening as well. Could you share a synopsis of your personal spiritual itinerary? Basically my inner strength in spirituality was awakened at the age of 4. After I met my Guruji through a book at the age of 8, I used to meditate and go into silence, study scriptures, and stayed in caves for 2 years. Then we opened an ashram in 2001 in Gujarat to carry on with spiritual activities along with service (sewa). Tell us about your guru Shrimad Rajchandraji? He was guide to Gandhiji also. When Gandhiji was in South Africa and was in turmoil, he asked 27 questions from South Africa and Rajchandraji had answered them. [Editor’s […]

Chicago IL: Alderman Debra Silverstein of the 50th Ward hosted an open meeting on Dec. 13 at Devon Bank to discuss the multi-million-dollar Devon Avenue Streetscape Project. The aim was to inform and solicit critical input on this projected facelift to the Ward’s cultural and commercial center, making it more attractive, better for businesses, and safer for neighbors and shoppers. The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Devon Avenue Streetscape Task Force, and other city officials participated. This is the first time the City’s work on the project was shared with the public. The meeting was a call for local businesses and residents to become more involved in their own future. Following a brief introduction, Silverstein handed the floor to Project Director Janet Attarian from CDOT, who walked the audience through the team’s thought processes. She began by noting how Devon Avenue “has managed to retain its identity and strong social fabric rather than giving way to the pressures of gentrification,” i.e., having its poorer ethnic residents squeezed out by increased rent and property taxes due to the influx of more affluent people attracted by the local amenities. Her PowerPoint presentation showed how that entire stretch of Devon Avenue would […]

Rolling Meadows, IL: Human Development Foundation (HDF) and Kulsoom Foundation celebrated ‘Rahmania For Sonia’ on Sat., 23 Feb. 2013 at Meadows Club (2950 Golf Rd, Rolling Meadows, Ill.). Hosted by Kulsoom Foundation and attended by over 400 people, the theme of the evening was ‘A girl, A Dream, A Mission’. It was about Sonia Shah who wanted to help poor girls of a small village in Pakistan by building a school but could not complete her mission due to a tragic accident in summer of 2012. The fundraiser included live and silent auction, a dance performance by Sonia’s friend Shimoli Shah and choreographed dance performance by Dhrishti Art at A.R. Rahman music, which kept people engage and glued to the stage till mid night. All the proceeds will go to building Sonia Shah Memorial School in village Kangra in rural North West of Pakistan. Of Pashtun heritage, Sonia lived and studied in four countries, Thailand, England, US and finally graduated a year early from Zurich International School in Switzerland. An honor student she had a thirst for understanding the world around her. In 2011, she was the youngest intern on Capitol Hill and in 2012 among the youngest intern at […]

Glendale Heights, IL: The monthly bazaar, the first for 2013, hosted by Falak Fashions from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. through the sunny Sunday of 24 Feb. 2013 at the Ramada Inn at 780E. North Avenue, Glendale Heights, Ill., drew value shoppers all day long from across Chicagoland. Close to forty vendors offered native apparel and tailoring, bridal and other jewelry, perfumes, health food, prayer rugs and other Islamic paraphernalia, under single compact roof. Admission was free as always. In addition to wholesalers and established businesses that had their own brick-and-mortar outlets at otherwise dispersed locations, this single shared venue also makes it possible for entrepreneurial individuals working out of home and even without a business card to offer their goods and services at competitive prices. Falak Fashions and Ermas Exclusive Collection, for example, have physical outlets in Glendale Heights and Bolingbrook respectively, the latter also maintaining a dedicated Facebook page. Among the other apparel vendors selling formal or casual ware that Asian Media USA visited, interviewed, and photographed were Maeda Collection, Parizays, Iffat Boutique (Westmont), S.K. Collections, Design Boutique (Gilberts), Eiman’s Apparel (Aurora), Nafisa’s Kitchen & Desi Fashion (Morton Grove), and Malaika Collection (Carol Stream). Maaz Collection (Des Plaines) […]

Lombard IL: With red and pink heart-shaped balloons at the entrance of the banquet hall, over 200 guests gathered for a vibrant Valentine celebration on Sat., Feb. 23, 2013 at Viceroy of India, Lombard, according to a press release. Sponsored by the Club of Indian Women (CIW), the event was chaired by Pratibha Jairath, SaReGaMa Orchestra led by Hitesh Master and Kafi Khan provided the music. The singers were Pratibha Jairath, Raju Bankapur, and Hitesh Master joined by guest singer, Shaila Khedkar. The program was emceed by Madhu Uppal and Jairath. The evening peaked with Jairath singing love songs like Agar Tum Mil Jao, Aiye Meharban, Yeh Sama, Ajeeb Dastaan Chikni Chameli, and Yeh Mer Dil. . The dance floor filled up in no time and stayed that way when Raju Bankapur continued the singing with Sochenge Tumhe Pyar, Chand Sifarish, and Bachna Ae Haseeno. Later, the show continued with Master’s melodious numbers of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Khedkar’s rendering of Kaisi Paheli and Parda Parda. The singing and dancing continued till midnight. Just about every lady guest at the Valentine celebration was in glamorous red or black and red attire and men in their best red tie or […]

Naperville IL: Tri-State Telugu Association, a registered 501c(3) nonprofit organization organized “The Learning Hour- Senior Services and Benefits”, an informative and educational free seminar to benefit the Telugu community at-large on Saturday, Feb 23rd at the Naperville Public Library. The goal of this organization is to enhance the cultural, educational, social and charitable interactions among its members The seminar was presented by Mrs.Shree Gurusamy, a Senior Benefits Specialist and Health Promotion Coordinator at Metropolitan Asian Family Services (MAFS). A Social Worker by profession and practicing in this field for more than 15 years Shree is actively engaged in community outreach and resource development activities. The seminar provided an opportunity for older adults and their care takers to hear from the speaker on a host of topics that impacted their quality of life. The seminar helped educate and raise awareness regarding the various benefits available for seniors living in Illinois . The topic highlights ranging from Social Security Retirement Benefits, Senior Transportation Services, In-Home and Adult Day Care services also covered the Prescription Drug Benefits available for seniors. The presentation was followed by an interactive Question and answer session with active participation from the attendees. Snacks were served by the organizers […]

Bartlett, IL: Manpasand and Suga Builders presented Super hit Gujarati Drama “Gujjubhai Ni Golmaal” on Friday, February 22, 2013 at Jain Center, 435 Hwy 59, Bartlett, IL. This being the first Gujarati play to come to Chicago in 2013 was a SOLD OUT event. Despite the bad snowy weather, the show attracted 600 plus members who jammed into the Jain Center auditorium. Admission tickets were $25, $35, and VIP ($55) which included Gujarati dinner. Bhavna Modi, the National and local promoter of the play has always bought quality plays to USA. She remarked that “Comedies only work when the actors share certain camaraderie and comfort level with each other, the audience could feel the amazing chemistry of the entire cast on the stage”. The play was in Gujarati Language, Writen by Pravin Solanki, Directed by Siddharth Randeria and Cast included Siddharth Randeria, Tejas Vyas, Kiran Malvanker, Chitrak Shah, Jyuthika Shah, Ketan Joshi, Sameer Uurav, Jay Pandya and Rohinton Chesan. Gujjubhai Ni Golmaal, Siddharth Randeria’s new comedy drama was a roller coaster ride of laughter. The story is about Gujjubhai’s journey to make money and get rich. His moto is “it’s better to be rich than do good”. He tries every […]

Skokie, IL: The Indian community of Niles Township celebrated India Republic Day through the afternoon of February 9, 2013 at Fairview School District 72, 7040 Laramie Ave Skokie, IL with music and dance performances, interspersed with remarks by the organizers and various guests. The initiative and inspiration behind this annual celebration since its inception has been Usha Kamaria. Chief Guest was Skokie Mayor George van Dusen. People came even from far suburbs outside Niles Township. Among the other dignitaries present, including elected and non-elected officials, were the director of Skokie public library Carolyn Anthony, Illinois State Rep. Daniel Biss, director of drug compliance Dr. Yash Amin, and prominent community leaders such as Iftekar Shareef, Naren Patel, Sunil Shah, Tushar Chotalia, and Skokie Park District superintendent Mike Reid. The program began with the auspicious lamp lighting ceremony performed by Rohit Joshi, accompanied by several dignitaries. DJ Chawla led the singing of the American and Indian national anthems, which preceded the opening remarks by Santosh Varghese. Usha Kamaria then took the podium to speak about Republic Day followed by Mayor Van Dusen. His wife Susan Van Dusen spoke subsequently about the annual “Coming Together in Skokie” festival that celebrates in turn one […]

Chicago IL: In a presentation on Feb. 13 at Logan Center for the Arts of University of Chicago (UC) titled “Moving across Global Soundscapes: the Permutations of a Public Ethnomusicologist,” Amelia (Amie) Maciszewski explored documentary film-making and musical performance. A constant refrain was the constraints and advantages of pursuing such a vocation outside of academia. Prof. Kaley Mason at UC Dept. of Music introduced Maciszewski as sitarist, teaching artist, ethnomusicologist, and documentary filmmaker. Having begun her training in Hindustani music under late sitarist Suresh Mishra, she continues under sarod maestro Aashish Khan and Hindustani vocal diva Girija Devi. She has 4 CDs to her credit: Guru Pranam (2010) and Light and Legacy (2007) both feature her classical sitar. Sangeet Safar (2010) and Shimmering (2007) showcase her Indo-jazz fusion project ensemble Sangeet Millennium. A PhD in ethnomusicology from University of Texas (Austin), she has been visiting professor and teaching artist at the Universities of Colorado, Alberta, Pittsburgh, and Texas. Passionate about women’s rights and creativity, she has published several articles and produced 4 films documenting her research with courtesan musicians (tawaif) in India. Maciszewski resides primarily in Austin and Dallas. Maciszewski showed scenes of her ongoing collaboration in “Indo-Jazz” fusion with […]

Chicago IL: “Performing the Bengal Borderlands: Music, Movement and Encounter” (Feb. 11–16) series at the University of Chicago (UC) was launched with a concert titled “Hindustani Strings at the Borderlands” at 7:30 pm on Feb 11, 2013 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. It featured separate performances by Amie Maciszewski (Austin, Texas) on the sitar and Somjit Dasgupta (Kolkata, India) on the sarod. They were accompanied by Manpreet Bedi on the tabla. The weeklong series of events is hosted by UC’s South Asian Sound Interventions Series (SASI). Assistant Professor of Music and the Humanities, Kaley Mason introduced Maciszewski and Bedi. The former, a student of sarod maestro Aashish Khan and Hindustani vocal diva Girija Devi, is a sitarist, teaching artist, ethnomusicologist, and documentary filmmaker. She played short pieces in different genres popular across the Bengal region, starting with raga Jhinjhoti popular as a folk variant (jhinjhit) among the Baul musicians. This was followed by raga Saraswati, in acknowledgement of the seasonal worship of the goddess of learning, the arts, and music, just commencing in India. She concluded with a Bengali boatman song. Bedi, a local Chicago artist, is a disciple of Suresh Talwalkar and Ramdas Palsule. […]