Page 1 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Volume 22, Issue 2
Fall 2012
www.iamn.org Facebook
(India Association of Minnesota)
The India Association of Minnesota, a not-for-profit organization, represents people with an interest in the culture and heritage of India to build a sense of cohesiveness within this community,
represent the community to the population at large, and serve as the focal point for advancing the educational, cultural, and charitable interests of the community.
President’s Note
Namaste!
On behalf of IAM I wish you all happy and
prosperous New Year. It has been an eventful
year for IAM as well as in general too. There
are exciting things as well things that we
wouldn’t want to happen like shootings and
other events. Well let’s say bye to 2012.
While striving to grow IAM and make it more
relevant to the Indian community, IAM has
either hosted or participated in several events.
Below are brief highlights of each event:
IAM took on the responsibility to organize
Urban Expedition for India at Landmark Center
on April 15 and pulled it off with flying colors.
As usual IAM carried out the responsibility of
representing India at the Festival of Nations
with great commitment from May 3rd to 6th.
IAM is extremely thankful to the committed
leaders and selfless volunteers.
This year IAM hosted a booth for India at the
International Children’s Festival on June 2nd
and 3rd. Our volunteer’s service in providing the
ever popular Mehendi and Face painting was
extra ordinary.
IndiaFest is the signature event of IAM, where
IAM invites all Indian Americans as well all
other nationalities to celebrate India’s
Independence Day and get a feel for India here
in Minnesota. This event is growing in
popularity and IAM is continuously striving to
make it bigger each year. IAM also awarded 2
student leadership awards, with cash award of
$1,000.
Partnership with Regional Organizations is an
area where there is significant improvement
and IAM will continue to build the relationship
in a sustainable model. IAM also actively
coordinates with charitable organizations like
Vibha (dream mile & Cricket league), Habitat
for Humanity & Be the Match.
The Annual General Body Meeting was held on
Nov 11 at Durham Apartments, where new
board and officers are elected. The meeting
was followed by Volunteer appreciation lunch
to thank the community members who
volunteered at various IAM events throughout
the year.
I congratulate and welcome the 2013 IAM
board and committee members. I will be doing
my best to coordinate with the 2013 IAM team,
in making IAM more visible and more useful to
the community. We have a lot of activities
planned and I am excited to work with the new
board for 2013 to accomplish bigger and better
things in 2013.
I thank the outgoing IAM board and especially
2012 IAM President Kusum Gosain for showing
leadership and commitment in making 2012 a
successful year for IAM. I am also thankful to
the time and help given by the volunteers
throughout the year. It is not possible for IAM
to do the events without all the help it receives
in several ways. They are an important glue in
keeping the community together and helping
us meet our mission.
Regards Nagarjuna Bommareddy IAM 2013 President
IAM News INDIA ASSOCIATION OF MINNESOTA
In this issue:
President’s Note ...page 1 New Members ...page 2 Upcoming Events ...page 3
Urban Expedition Event ...page 5
Festival Of Nations Event ...page 5 Flinthills Children's Festival ...page 5 Candle Light Vigil ...page 5 IndiaFest Event ...page 5
2012 Fellowship Awards ...page 7
Page 2 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Welcome to the IAM Family!!
New Members to IAM Family
Rajiv Mishra Ram Tallapaka Ramakrishna Nadakuditi Ramanan Venkat Ranjit Menon Rashmi & Devesh Bhatt Ravi Jata Ravi Kanikanti Ravi Sagi Ravi Shanbhag Renu Kumar Riya Rayapudi Sagar Malisetti (Life Time Member) Sai Gadia Sandeep Kumar Kukatla Sandhya Madasu & Krishna Kandula Sangeetha Jain Santosh Kumar Nandagiri Sanvi Kishore Satya Boda Seena Goerge & Anish Kurian Shamim & Ahmed Sundrani Sheshagiri Mekala Shreyaa Pattanaik Sindhura Vadlamani Sirisha Katani & Sridhar Naguboyina Siva Iyer Srinivasa Doraiswamy Subhashini Mahipathi Subodh Kulkarni Sudeep Bhat Sujatha & Richard Roberts Suneetha & Rama Raju Kanumuri Sunil Kumar Raval Surekha Joshi & Ambuj Sharma Syam Kandanulu Uma Janga Vasu Bollepalli Venkat Kota Venkata Devulapalli Venkata Tangeti Venkatesh Bashyam Vidhullatha & Laxman Sunkam Vidyotham Reddi Vishnu Satyam Mamidala
Alpa Kanuga Anitha Sreerama & Ravindra Molakalapalli
Anu & Krishnan Ganesan Arathi Parupally
Asavari Manvikar Ashutosh Mujumdar
Bharathi Inampudi Debarshi Roy
Deepthi Krishnamurthy Devindi Lalani Gautham Rao
Geeta & Venkateswara Kolla Gita Ghei
Gopichand Adusumilli Hema Isreepersaud
Hema Kilari Jagruti & Sandip Bhakta
Jaya & Vijay Yalamanchali Jumana Harianawala
Kalyani & Nag Sharabu Kalyani & Rao Gutta
Kanyaka Pai Karamjeet Sandhu
Ketan & Siddharth Gaikwad Kiran Govindu
Krishna Kishore Pandari Krishnaveni & Sudhakara Mukkara
Krithika Vijayachandran Kushum Priya Murahari
Laxmi & Satya Volla Madhu Kolan
Madhusudhana Rao Mustafa A Tiewala
Nadira Basdeo Nagaraju Nimmakayala
Nandini Mohan Narendra Chavali
Pavitra & Satish Bandapati Preeti & Bhagwan Reddy
Prem & Reeta Badhwa Priyanka Suri
Purnima & Chandra Ghatti Raghu Padiyath
Rajashree & Madan Rao Rajita Dandamudi & Harsha Paruchuri
Page 3 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Upcoming Events:
Calendar of 2013 IAM Hosted Events
Connect India 2013 Crowne Plaza, Bloomington Sat, Mar 23, 2013
IndiaFest 2013 St. Paul Capitol Grounds, St. Paul Sat, Aug 10, 2013
Calendar of 2013 Minnesota Events - with IAM Involvement
Festival of Nations St. Paul River Center, St. Paul Thu, May 2 - Sun May 5, 2013
International Children’s Fest Rice Park, St. Paul TBD (~1st weekend of June)
Calendar of 2013 Indian Community Events - with IAM Involvement
MATA Indoor Volley Ball Tournament Senior High School, Shakopee Sat Feb 2, 2013
IAM 2013 Team
* Continuing Members in the respective roles
2013 IAM Board of Directors (21) and Committee Leads (8)
2013 IAM Officers of the Board
2013 IAM Associate Board of Directors
TAC (Trustee Advisory Council) members
Amit Kachru Kusum Gosain* Priyanka Narayan* Siva Iyer
Babu Chimata* Manohar Shintre* Rajashree Rao Smita Sutaria*
Brahma Dathan* Meena Bharti Raman Rao Kalyanam Srikanth Kamojjala*
Dean Gupta Murlidharan B Choyikandi Rashmi Shah Sanjeev Arora*
Gautham Rao Nagarjuna Bommareddy* Ravi Sagi Sunoj Narayanan*
Giri Makela Naina Varanasi Santhosh Chandrabalan* Suresh Kalatoor*
Guptan Kaplingat* Natarajan Raman* Satish Bandapati Suresh Krishna
Hasim Khorakiwala*
Nagarjuna Bommareddy President Babu Chimata Secretary
Sunoj Narayanan Vice President Manohar Shintre* Treasurer
Ammar Hussain Ram Thanumoorthy Sumon Chattopadhyay Jackson Walker
Guptan Namboodiripad (Chair) PG Narayanan* Hari Pallempati* Sudhir Nath*
Page 4 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Urban Expedition 2012 - India
April 15, 2012 1 to 3 PM at Landmark Center, St Paul
It was a day with clouds marring the sun
in the Land of ten thousand lakes when
many of its residents made their way to
the historic Landmark Center in the
capital city of St Paul. Little may they
have realized that they are in store for
an afternoon of pure splendor and
sunshine. Two young emcees of the
event who invited the crowd to travel with them to see the
waves of the Indian Ocean cavort with the majestic peaks of the
Himalayas. And so the journey began.
The first stop was at the ancient Dravidian temples of Tamil
Nadu, in the south of India, within whose sacred sculptures lie
the origins of a magnificent dance form- the Bharatanatyam.
The dancer presented an Alarippu, a solo invocation offered to
Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles, through intricate
rhythms and expressions. Then we reached the scorching
deserts of Rajasthan to celebrate the festival of colors with Holi
Gulal. The young girls in their vivid and vibrant costumes
complete with traditional jewelry, infused the nectar of joy and
life to the dry and barren deserts of Rajasthan. Then we
journeyed way back to the ages into the Treta Yuga with
Ramayana, depicting the ideal relationships and the perfect
persona. The dance drama took the crowd through the fourteen
year exile of Prince Rama, the interlude with Surpanakha which
paved the way for the abduction of Sita, the Lankan war and the
final triumph of good over evil, all enacted by talented young
kids replete in their ideal costumes and perfect props to
support.
Soon after began a musical journey with a beautifully
orchestrated mix of classical, semi classical and folklore from all
over India. Then we were greeted with a sudden frenzy of foot
tapping music and a sizzling dance with a mix of traditional
Gujarat’s garba and fast bollywood moves by a group of
beautiful girls. At this point came a wake of mesmerizing
dancers from the east, west, north and south of India. It was a
wondrous melange of Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu,
Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh, Mohiniyattam from Kerala and
Manipuri from Manipur. The medley included two men clad in
black and white loin cloth brandishing swords and shields to
perform Kalaripayattu, the world’s most ancient martial arts
which originated in Kerala, believed to date back 3000 years.
The climactic finale to this grandeur came in the form of
Kathakali, through highly intricate gestures, rigorous dance
movements and a myriad of fleeting expressions ,the kathakali
performer transported the crowd into realms of pure wonder
and rapture. It was an amazing tapestry weaved in rich colors of
the dance costumes, intricate threads of the rhythms and
brilliant pattern of the expressions !
The travellers were given a peek of India during the Vedic
period with a sublime musical journey on the Saraswati Veena
at the hands of the world renowned Vainika Nirmala Rajasekar.
With Nirmala plucking at the strings of the Veena with lightning
speed but enchanting melody, and her students singing along to
the tunes of the classical Indian ragas, to the listeners it was
pure magic and soul stirring rhapsody plucking at their heart
strings. Then we were taken to the Land of Five Waters with the
very high energy folk dance Bhangra. Then came a group of
singers with an ancient percussion instrument mridangam-
causing a divine vibrant rhythm to resonate in earth and
heavens in the glory of Ganesha. The vibrancy was enhanced
many fold by two young belles in Angrakhas- the traditional
costume of the age old Kathak dance from the heart of India,
Uttar Pradesh. From there it was many steps further into the
realm of pure gaiety and fun with young children dancing to the
lyrics of Jai Ho. As the expedition erupted into thunderous joy
with this world famous composition, there came the grand
finale. Three young singers aroused patriotism and pride in
many with a salutation to their wonderful motherland through
Vande Mataram, the national song of the Republic of India, the
version created by the genius A R Rahman.
The Diwali lamps designed by the children lit this path up in
bright colors and sparkling stones, while the beautiful peacock
lamps completed the splendor of the silk road! And the art of
henna and face painting created delicate patterns along the
sides of the path. To add aroma and flavor to this path was a
spread of Indian banquet with its spicy curries, samosas and
garam chai, while the age old yoga rendered a sense of peace
and tranquility to this whole melee.
For the travelers who set out on this adventure, India with its
rich, varied, colorful, vibrant hues, its multidimensional
diversity, its eclectic symphony of ancient heritage, arts and
culture with edgy modern influences, its confounding energy, it
was a ride that thrilled, inspired, astounded and mystified them
at the same time. India was an awakening to their every cells
and an assault to their every senses. As one by one each
traveler departed to their home, Urban Expedition India handed
them an intoxicating cultural cocktail to wind down their
Sunday evening.
Manju Nayar Lead - Urban Expedition 2012
Page 5 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Festival of Nations May 3 –6, 2012 at St. Paul RiverCenter, St. Paul IAM getting better and better at representing India at Festival
of Nations, where several countries are show cased in a
professional manner. India is represented with well
choreographed stage shows as well as the exhibit booth.
High light of this year is a show of traditional Indian marriage.
With in India there are diverse traditions when it comes to
marriage. It is an effort to bring all diverse traditions together
to show case one tradition to the Minnesotans.
Café which servers traditional Indian food items like Samosa,
Chai etc., continue innovating new offerings and the new
item Dosa from last year is continued and is an item
Minnesotans tried.
Numerous volunteer hours are put in by both IAM team
members as well as several volunteers. Indian Community is
thankful to those all who make this effort seamless year over
year. Tireless and passionate efforts from IAM veterans Ravi
Sura, Raj Menon, Nagaraj Gurumurthy are of significance.
IAM team includes Venkat Seemakurthy, Guptan
Namboodripad, Santhosh Chandrabalan, Smita Sutaria and
Kusum Gosain. Most of IAM team volunteered at Café and
Exhibit booth along with SILC family members.
International Children’s Festival June 2-3, 2012 at Rice Park, St. Paul This year IAM was invited as an educational partner to
participate at Flint hills 2012 - International Children's
Festival organized by Ordway. We had a successful two days
filled with activities and presentation during the Festival
Family Days on Jun 2 & 3.
IAM shared a booth with "Child Reach Uganda" and also had
an additional tent just for IAM activities. The activity tent was
busy with children and parents lining up for Henna, art work,
Nail and face painting.
Page 6 Dec 2012 - IAM News
Heartfelt thanks to School of Indian Languages and Culture
(SILC), Hindu American Temple School (HATS) and many other
volunteers for their participation and taking care of activities.
There were many kids, parents from both the organizations
that came to volunteer for activities that got spread over two
full days.
At the main IAM booth, we promoted IndiaFest and
presented aspects of Indian culture. We had many visitors
who showed great interest in our display. In general the
questions were when is IndiaFest and how to get help with
India related matters.
We had a few cultural performances on the Target Stage
which were well received. It was great to see India so well
represented at the festival.
Babu Chimata, Lead 2012 International Children’s Festival
Candle Light Vigil August, 2012
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki
Fateh,
I would like to thank you all for joining us
in honoring the lives lost in the Oak Creek
shootings of this past Sunday. My heart
goes out to all the victims, heroes, and
families impacted by the incident. The
bravery shown by the police officers who confronted the
shooter will not soon be forgotten by the Sikh community,
and I hope for a speedy and full recovery by the officer who
was injured.
The effects of domestic terror are always widespread and
necessitate increased vigilance by all people. It's at times like
these that we are reminded that anyone can fall victim to
prejudice, hatred, and ignorance. However, out of this time of
sadness and reflection, we all have a unique opportunity to
teach each other about our own cultural backgrounds while
learning about others. We must understand that the values
we share are far numerous to those which divide us. From
this commonality, we can all stand together not as Sikh,
Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian communities, but rather
as humanity against these senseless acts against anyone of
any group.
The fight against bigotry and inequality and achieving an
inclusionary society starts at home. We need to encourage
our families to understand that differences in values and
opinions are not justification to see others as better or worse
than ourselves. On the part of the Sikh community, while we
may use our opportunity to display who we are and who we
are not as a result of this tragedy, we need to make sure that
mistaken identity does not become central to our platform.
The biggest lesson we teach is not that Sikhs shouldn't be
targeted because we are not Muslims, but rather that this
shouldn't happen to anybody. Only by doing this can we
prevent hatred based on religion, appearance, income, or
ethnicity.
My parents immigrated to America for freedom of religion
and to offer my sister and myself a home to fulfill our dreams.
The core foundation of Sikhism is remarkably universal:
having respect for diversity, treating one another with
understanding and equality, and creating a society that
fosters opportunity for success. These are very much
American values.
Ultimately, seeing so many from outside our community here
today gives me hope that we have taken our first step
towards a unified society in which any group affected by
tragedy can count on their brothers and sisters from all
communities to step up and support them against any
expressions of hate. I have faith that the country founded on
escaping persecution will not instead turn into the
persecutor. Thank you for helping to preserve what it really
means to be an American.
—Jasvinder Singh
Jasvinder is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota.
Born and raised in the Minneapolis area, he has been a
member of the local Sikh sangat (community) his entire life.
He remains active in the community by volunteering in a
South Asian health initiative called Sehat and organizing
monthly Sikh religious services by the youth.
IndiaFest 2012 August 11, 2012 at Capitol Grounds, St Paul It was one of my most memorable days in my life. Why you
may ask? Well, to see thousands of people flooding the upper
and lower mall of the St. Paul Capitol grounds all to celebrate
the unity of Independence was truly amazing.
For the third year, IndiaFest took place at the St. Paul Capitol
grounds on August 11th, 2012. The event was a true success
with approximately 9,000 attendees including many from
outside of the Twin Cities. With a number of new vendors,
great food stalls, and a record number of sponsors, IndiaFest
exceeded all expectations.
Page 7 Dec 2012 - IAM News
One of the event's highlights was the parade of regional
organizations around the grounds, followed by the flag
hoisting ceremony. Then the President of the Sikh Society of
Minnesota said a few words and a moment of silence was
observed for the victims of the tragedy in Wisconsin.
There were six hours of entertaining music and dance
throughout the day with many beautiful colors and styles of
music portrayed. Thank you to all of the participants; you truly
made the event special.
Much thanks to Dr. Dash and the Walmart foundation for
sponsoring the IAM Fellowship awards. These two awards are
given to graduating high school seniors who not only have
outstanding academic backgrounds but have shown leadership
in their community and demonstrated shown interest in
promoting Indian culture in Minnesota. Congratulations to this
year's winners - Tara Gupta and Shraddha Raghavan.
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, the street that separates the upper
and lower malls of the State Capitol grounds, was covered with
vendors selling items from clothing and jewelry to books. The
street was packed with both shoppers and curious onlookers.
With great success and a wonderful day, IAM looks forward to
having more wonderful vendors for IndiaFest next year and
years to come.
Lastly, the event could not have been successful without the
help of the brilliant IAM/IndiaFest volunteers. I personally
want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work
before, during, and after the event. If you would like more
information about IAM or IndiaFest, please visit
www.iamn.org.
We look forward to seeing everyone at IndiaFest 2013 next
year!!
Regards Sunoj Narayanan 2012 IndiaFest Chairperson & IAM Secretary
2012 IAM Fellowship Awards Every year IAM endows two graduating high school students
going to college with an IAM Fellowship award of $1,000 each.
We select students with not only an outstanding academic
background, but who also have demonstrated leadership in
the community with their service and exhibited talent and
interest in promoting Indian culture in Minnesota.
This year we had several outstanding applications of students
from various schools in the Twin Cities area. All of them had
excellent academic credentials. All of them are very talented
young men and women who have had a significant record of
achievement and community impact. IAM is so proud of all of
them. This year's winners are Tara Gupta and Shraddha
Raghavan. Many congratulations to them.
Tara just graduated from Edina Senior High School and will be
going to Wellesley College. Besides being an excellent student,
Tara was captain of Edina's Speech and Debate teams. She is a
dedicated soccer player, hip hop dancer, and student rep of
the Edina Education Fund Board. She is a violist and was
media intern at the Pangea World Theater. She has also
written a children's book. Tara is founder and president Seva
Football which promotes soccer among underprivileged and
minority youth which has many international locations.
Shraddha graduated from Wayzata High School and is
proceeding to Carleton College. Besides academic excellence
she is active in speech, debate, science, and creative writing
teams/clubs, Shraddha is also deeply connected to her Indian
heritage. She has demonstrated this over a period of many
years with her dedication to Hindu American Temple School
(HATS) where she was one of the founding members.
Shraddha is dedicated to Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music
and has contributed to many cultural programs. Shraddha's
work of art has been published in her school newspaper.
Page 8 Dec 2012 - IAM News
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