AIA India Day Celebration

Story and Photos by Rose Johnson-Brown, by Rojo Designs Photography

(Additional photos provided by Bob Van Handel)

It was a day of celebration for the Association of India in America (AIA) with music, song, dance, and food on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library Mall Saturday, Sept. 6.
In cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Center for South East Asia, the AIA sponsors this event to reinforce its mission "to foster and promote cultural and social interactions among the members and all those interested in Indian culture and heritage.” The AIA also strives to “raise political awareness among its members and others regarding issues relevant to India and the people of Indian origin."

The celebration started with Surya Ganesan and Aarushi Agni singing the Indian and the American National Anthems followed by welcoming comments by the cultural coordinator and master of ceremonies Yinay K. Dhodda.
Students of the Kalaanjali School of Dance, owned by Meenakshi Ganesan, instructor and choreographer, performed Bharathanatyam dances: "Ganesha Kauthukam" by Snigdha Suvarna and "Murugan Kauthukam" by Meagan Dietrich, Eliana Dumbaugh, Lauren SandersFleming, Shivani Kumar, Sanjana Kumar, and Snigdha Suvarna. Ganean's students Ramya Raman and Ramya Rangarajan performed a semi-classical dance.
Even the little tots performed for this special day.  "Kurri Punjabi" was performed by Jassi Chahal and Jaskiran Sandhhu fromPunjab and choreographed by Lakhvir Chahal and Kamlesh Saini. Five-year-old Surya Ganesan performed to "Bhajan."
 Nitin Saini, Ivraj Seerha, and Harpreet Gill also performed a fast Punjabi song and dance mix called “Bhangra.”
There were selections of Carnatic classical piano music played by Sanjay Suresh, as well as a Carnatic song, "Ya-Ramitha," sang by Ramya Rangarajan, a student of Vanitha Suresh.
The Kathak Dance was performed by Sunil Sunkara and Harish and danced to a mix of South Indian Tamil songs, which he choreographed himself.
Violin selections were performed by students of Mrs. Vijaya Desikan: Hirini Desikan, Tarjani Ranade, and Vishal Narayanswami.
A Bollywood group dance was performed by Dance Dhamaka I which included Bani Oberoi,  Kamya Chakravarthi, Nihar Ballamudi, Renee Rech, Rohan Yathiraj, Sanjay Mathur, Sanil Partha, and Sanjay Suresh — all 3 and 4 years old. The Dance Dhamaka II performers — Anjali Mathur, Samik Partha, Sheha Sank, Aakash Vijeesh, Priya Mathur, Aprupa Ballamudi, Pranaya Lakkaraju, Divaya Lyer, and Arhat Dhakwa — were the older dancers performing Bollywood dance. Both groups were choreographed by Aruna and Sowmya.
Anusha Ramaswami, Teja Vemuganti, Keerthana Pittala and Nevi Prabhakaran performed the final "Madhuri Dixit Special" Bollywood dance.
The AIA President Shyam Koppikar delivered words of appreciation thanking members and the public for their support reinforcing the organization’s tradition in celebrating youth accomplishment, education, and recognizing the Indian Graduate Student Association on the UWMadison campus. Madison has approximately 3,000 families of Indian origin, and Koppikar, who has been here since 2000, vowed to increase membership over his next two years as president. Other long-term goals included building a community center where the Indian community can organize functions.
The mall was laid out with booths of traditional foods,  goods, and informational booths related to India’s culture and organizations.  The dances and performances were reminiscent of India’s rich culture and history with their costumes, hand movements, and gestures. It was a day of learning and sharing the traditional and contemporary eastern culture of India.