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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