~ HAPPENINGS ~

Sen. Dodd Meets With Indian PM to Promote Economic Ties

CT Indian Life Bureau – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 7 to discuss U.S.-India relations and the global economic crisis.

“Today’s meeting with Prime Minister Singh was productive and positive, and I am grateful to him for welcoming me to his wonderful country,” said Dodd. “India is an important friend and economic ally to the United States, and I look forward to working to bring India and the United States closer as two nations that share common values and aspirations.”

Dodd is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of its subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and the Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus.

FeTNA Fete 2010: Filled With Kudugalam

CT Indian Life Bureau – During the July 4th weekend, Palace Theater in Waterbury hosted one of the biggest Tamil conventions organized by the Federation of Tamil Sangams (Associations) of North America (FeTNA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, literary, cultural organization that attracts nearly 2,000 Tamils each year.

Tamil, a classical language, is one of the ancient languages of the Dravidian Era and has a recorded history going back two millennia, with rich cultural heritage and classical literature.

For the last 23 years, FeTNA, an umbrella organization for nearly 35-40 state-level organizations, presents a mega event each year in a different state and city where Tamils of North America congregate, celebrate their culture, recognize community achievements, organize professional forums, enjoy music, dance, literature and theater performances, meet Kollywood (South Indian movie) artists, film and music directors, eminent speakers, poets, and soap opera stars from India. The locals also get to showcase their talent in this three-day event.

The event began on July 3rd and was attended by Tamil luminaries like movie director Bharathiraja, film stars Vikram, Priyamani, Lakshmi, Santhanam and Srinath; Tamil poet Thamarai, Tamil professor Parveen Sultana and Tamil spiritual leader Marudhachala Adigalar. Michael J. Jarijura, Mayor of Waterbury, was a participant.

On Sunday July 4th there was a special Tamil folk opera called Madhurai Veeran (the hero of the city Madurai in Tamilnadu. A therukoothu or street play/ interactive village theater, the opera was performed by artists from Chennai, India, who were specially trained in this tradition of art from a very early age. This program had a full audience with pin-drop silence followed by a nearly 10-minute standing ovation at the conclusion of the performance.

This was followed by a light music program with songs from Tamil movies. Famous singers Harish Raghavendra and Suchithra Karthik sang popular numbers while movie star Vikram joined in and sang along.

FeTNA also honored 10 top entrepreneurs of Tamil origin from the U.S. The event included break-out sessions on Continuing Medical Education (CME), an entrepreneur forum, a singles’ forum, young Tamils forum, Tamil bloggers meet etc.

The convention was planned under the leadership of Dr. Pazhani Sundaram of Connecticut who was the coordinator. The president of FeTNA, Dr.Muthuvel Chelliah, offered support and guidance.

Hundreds of volunteers came together to organize the event.

To know more about FeTNA, please visit www.fetna.org.

CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal

Recipients of the Top 10 Tamil Entrepreneurs award

Movie actor Vikram (2nd from L) and director Bharathiraja
(3rd from L) release “Malar” magazine

Therukoothu

Event photos by FeTNA volunteer Ramesh Ramanathan

CRY-CT Walks For a Cause

CT Indian Life Bureau – Child Rights & You (CRY), Connecticut chapter, kicked off the 2010 National Walk series for CRY America with a target of raising $100,000 through walks in 20 states across the U.S.

Nearly 200 participants gathered on the morning of June 5th at the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza in Hartford, starting point for the walk. It was a bright Saturday morning despite a forecast for thunderstorm.

Prashanth Shetty, president of CRY-CT, welcomed the participants. Harsha Deshpande, the walk lead, spoke about the significance of this year’s walk series. The participants walked along the 1.5-mile scenic riverfront route, returning to be entertained by music from Indaz Beats. The band played melodious tunes from Bollywood and South Indian movies.

The walk also featured CRY’s “My Vision” contest. Children painted their vision for the less privileged children around the world. The adults also chimed in, writing a short essay on the problems faced by children in India and possible solutions to tackle key issues.The event concluded with a talk by immunologist and allergist Dr. Prasad Srinivasan.

CRY-CT raised $4,500 through the event and plans on hosting entertaining fundraises through the year. Find out more by visiting www.cryct.org.

Founded in 2007, CRY-CT has in the last four years raised significant funds to help underprivileged children in India.

Trinity College Film Studio Celebrates With Bollywood Movie

CT Indian Life Bureau – Cinestudio, Hartford’s premier cinema theatre located on the campus of Trinity College, celebrated its 40th Anniversary May 8th with a special screening of Bollywood’s 2007 homage to itself, Om Shanti Om. The audience of film-obsessed Cinestudio alumni and Bollywood aficionados was thoroughly entertained by choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan’s affectionate, campy tribute to Bollywood in the 1970s, filled with tongue-in-cheek references to Mother India, innumerable cameos, a reincarnation plot, resplendent dance numbers, and Shah Rukh Khan. The film was preceded by a short talk on Bollywood style by Trinity film professor James Prakash Younger and punctuated by an intermission reception supplied with desi treats. The lively post-film discussion was judged a fitting conclusion to 40 years of Cinestudio’s existence as a temple for film-lovers and a promising portent for the future of this unique institution.



GOPIO-CT Honors Harman CEO Dinesh Paliwal, Sen. Chris Dodd, Neesha Ramchandani at Annual Awards Banquet

CT Indian Life Bureau – In a packed ballroom at the Italian Center in Stamford on May 2, GOPIO-CT honored and celebrated a corporate CEO, a U.S. senator and a young pediatric diabetes practitioner, for their achievements and contributions to the community – Mr. Dinesh Paliwal, chairman, CEO and president of Harman International; U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, and Neesha Ramchandani, pediatric nurse coordinator at Maimonides.

The elegant, raspberry-themed event which included a cocktail reception, dinner, dance performances by local artists and live music, was attended by nearly 250 Indian-American community leaders, supporters and public officials including Sen. Dodd, Ambassador Prabhu Dayal from the Indian Consulate in New York, U.S. Congressman Jim Himes, Lt. Governor Michael Fedele, Mayor Michael Pavia, State Senator Andrew MacDonald, and former Stamford Mayor, Dan Malloy.

Also attending were several members of the senior management team of Harman International, Gold Sponsor, and Stamford Hospital, Silver Sponsor of the event.

The 2010 “Indian-American Achiever Award” went to Dinesh Paliwal for business building and turnaround successes at Harman and ABB. Sen. Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and co-chairman of the Senate India Caucus, was honored with a “Friend of India” award in recognition of his leadership in advancing economic and political cooperation between India and the U.S.

“Americans of Indian descent have become part of the rich fabric of Connecticut and the United States and their contributions to our economy and our culture can be seen all across our state and our country,” Dodd said.

Guest of Honor, Stamford’s Mayor Michael Pavia, said, “The Indian-American community embraced me in the very early days of my campaign, and I am grateful for their friendship and support.”

The “Young Person of the Year Award” went to Neesha Ramchandani, a pediatric nurse practitioner and certified diabetes educator. She is coordinator of the pediatric diabetes program at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY.

In welcoming the guests, Shailesh Naik, president of GOPIO-CT said, “We congratulate the 2010 awardees. They are an asset to the community for all that they have done and accomplished.”

According to Ravi Dhingra, who chaired the 2010 Awards Committee, “the evening was a celebration – a celebration not just of the accomplishments of our awardees, but also a tribute to a strong and vibrant Indian-American community in Connecticut.”
 

Dinesh Paliwal receiving the governor’s certificate of recognition,
with Ambassador Prabhu Dayal and Lt. Governor Michael Fedele

2010 awardees with dignitaries and
executive board members of GOPIO-CT

Senator Dodd receiving the “Friend of India” award from Mayor Pavia.
Others in the picture (L to R): Thomas Abraham, Shailesh Naik and Ravi Dhingra

A Celebration of Spring to Help Children, Women, Disabled Persons in India

CT Indian Life Bureau – A bright evening on Saturday, April 24 saw a lively audience gathered in the auditorium of Plainville Middle School to participate in a joyous celebration of spring with dances and music from different regions of India. This was the twelfth annual stage presentation of Vasant Bahaar by the nonprofit organization VSEI (Volunteers in Service to Education in India, Inc.). The program included 17 dance and music pieces, including folk dances from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Rajasthan; classical dances in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, and other dance pieces with special themes.

The classical dances included the opening presentation of 'Ganapathi Kauthuvam' and later 'Krishna Shabdam' and 'Tarangam' in Kuchipudi, and a well-performed Bharatanatyam dance
piece 'Shivashtakam.' The folk dances comprised an interesting variety ranging from the colorful 'Garbo' and 'Manjira Nritya' dances from Gujarat, 'Bhangra' and 'Giddha' from Punjab, 'Ghoomar' from
Rajasthan, to a gypsy dance 'Kurati Kummi' from Tamil Nadu, and a dance based on the song 'Bhumro Bhumro' from hilly regions in U.P. Other dances included one from West Bengal describing the first monsoon, based on a song by Rabindranath Tagore, a dance celebrating Holi, a popular 'Jai Ho' dance, and an innovative dance depicting the statues of Khajuraho coming to life. Songs by Hemal Shah and Asit Vyas added to the attraction of the program.

This celebration of spring was organized partly for assisting selected VSEI projects in India. These are: Educational programs for children at the K.L. Institute for the Deaf in Bhavnagar; The Blind Persons Association in Mumbai for helping blind persons in their own community; Little Stars School in Varanasi for educating children in poorer communities; vocational education programs in Delhi Foundation of Deaf Women, New Delhi; and providing educational facilities for hearing-impaired school children in Chennai.

Since 1968, when VSEI was formed, the work of these projects relies on monetary support received in dollars or Indian rupees. For details, email vsei@ntplx.net or call (860) 233-5684.