December - Tulsa - India Association of Greater Tulsa

The Oklahoma Desi
Volume III, Issue 4, November 2007
From the President’s Desk ...
Dear IAGT Patrons:
At the onset of the year we set some goals for IAGT and I am very happy to announce that we have exceeded our expectations in achieving them. We organized six events this year, each with a different flavor. We contributed to over half a
dozen events organized by various other local organizations (including Tulsa Zoo, US Army Corps of Engineers, Girls
Scout, Martin Regional Library, Temple Israel, Dillon International, Tulsa Global Alliance, and Tulsa Community College) by providing cultural programs, setting up booths, doing presentations on India and even helping organize these
events. Overall it has been a great year sharing the culture of India with the greater Tulsa community.
Here is a summary of the events organized this Fall.
Utsav India Fest 2007 on September 15 at Expo Square was a grand success. It provided an opportunity for the citizens
of Tulsa and surrounding areas to get a glimpse of India without setting foot outside Tulsa. The six hour event included
28 booths featuring diverse states of India, showcasing various aspects of Indian culture, religion and spirituality,
henna, games, children’s corner, sale of Indian artifacts, clothes, and jewelry, and food stalls set up by India Palace and
Kolam; 23 colorful performances; and 5 workshops. Over 150 volunteers spent several thousand hours to help organize
this event that was attended by close to 2000 people.
IAGT assisted Kamlesh Aggarwal by providing materials to set up an India Booth at the Diversity Fest organized for the
first time in Muskogee on October 13. It was a unique educational experience for the people of Muskogee.
We joined hands with Tulsa Global Alliance to help organize India Today: Business and Beyond on October 22 and 23.
Over 60 people registered for the Bollywood night on October 22 at Circle Cinema organized by Manju Kaul on behalf of
IAGT. Kajal Sangal performed a classical dance, and Tejal Desai and Akanksha Ray performed a Bollywood dance at the
event which was followed by a screening of the Hindi movie “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam”. A few of the remarks follow:
“I wish my life were more like a Bollywood movie”
“We thought Bollywood was great. It was our first Indian movie experience. We were only going to stay for food, dancing, and
half of the movie, but we stayed for all of it. The night was good insight into Indian music and culture”
Students at Tulsa Community College (TCC) Southeast Campus organized a Diversity Fair on October 23 and set up an
India booth with the materials provided by IAGT. Organizers comments:
“The Diversity Fair was a success and All loved your booth. We even had a young man who plays the sitar to play near your
booth.”
The annual Diwali Celebration on November 17 was a very successful event. 25 items including classical and Bollywood dance performances, and vocal and instrumental music entertained an audience of about 550 people. India Palace
donated food, Kolam, and Indian Corner sold food, and IAGT provided complimentary sweets, chai and drinks. Thanks
to Poornima Basavaraju for making those delicious, irresistible Besan Burfis.
We will wrap this year up with DESI DHAMAKA—New Year’s Eve Bash.
A BIG THANKS to all our volunteers and sponsors for helping make 2007 a very successful year for us.
Sincerely,
Ajay Ray
President, IAGT
COMMUNITY NEWS
Freshman Aaron Abraham was named one of 400
semifinalists in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist
Challenge. He was the only Oklahoman to make the
semifinals.
Aaron's project, "Heat Transfer in Evaporative Cooling
of Water", demonstrates how tower height and flow
rate affect the cooling of water. His project showed him
that taller towers and slower flow rates are effective in
cooling water, which can help with water flow and conservation.
Last March, Aaron won the "Most Outstanding Overall Engineering
Project" at the Muskogee Area Regional Science and Engineering
Fair. He was one of 10 junior contestants to qualify for the Discovery
Channel Challenge.
Deesha Das (5 yrs), won the "Best Bison Close-Up Shot", in the Children's Photography Contest
organized by Tulsa City-County Library, in Aug-2007.
Saagar Basavaraju won the 2007 Oklahoma Chess State Grade Championship Trophy for Grade 1. He was declared first co-champion after he won the tie-breaker.
Nikith Kurella was the third co-champion.
Community Calendar of Events
Tulsa School of Music—SANGAM, Presents an evening of classical Music—Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 1:30
PM—4:00PM
Students will perform for their parents, friends, and interested audience to encourage and advance the
rich musical tradition of India. Featuring: Tabla, Bhajan, Classical Vocal, Violin, Sitar, Guitar, etc.
Venue: Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Road , Tulsa , OK 74129 ; (663-6340)
Contact: Ajit Sen @ 286-3842 or 231-0184
♦ HSS launches Surya Namaskar Yagna 2008 with renewed enthusiasm—January 12 to January 27, 2008
For the second consecutive year, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) announces offering (“yagna”) of one
million Sun Salutations, known as Surya Namaskar, to create awareness among the people of the world
about Yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind and spirit.
Contact: Rishikesh Athalye @ 312.286.7889
♦ Oklahoma Telugu Sangam invites everyone to Sankranthi Festival 2008 and Ugadi Festival 2008
THEME: UNITY IN DIVERSITY
• 12th Annual Sankranthi Festival 2008—Saturday, January 19, 08 - 6.00pm-9.00 pm.
Where: To be announced.
RSVP before January 12, 08. RSVP MANDATORY.
• Ugadi Festival 2008—Saturday, April 26, 08 - 4.30pm - 9.00pm
With Multi-Cultural Program from Each State of India, Fashion Show, Food, Fun & Door Prizes.
Where: To be announced.
RSVP before April 19, 08. RSVP MANDATORY.
Contact: HMUSAPETA@AOL.COM or KARAMCHED@YAHOO.COM
♦
Upcoming IAGT Event
•
December 31, 2007
DESI DHAMAKA—New Years Eve Bash
Clarion Hotel, Broken Arrow, OK
See attached flyer for details
IAGT 2008 Calendar of events will be announced by the new committee in
the next newsletter and published on the IAGT Web site (www.iagtok.org).
If you have not renewed
your 2008 IAGT membership please do so today.
Log on to our website
www.iagtok.org for the
membership form.
Congratulations—2008 IAGT Executive Committee
The new 2008 IAGT executive committee was announced during the annual Diwali function. President: Manju
Kaul, Vice President: Sudha Bhan, Treasurer: Sanat Shetty, Jt. Treasurer: Rohit Datar, Secretary: Chandini
Sharma, Jt. Secretary: Lakshminarasimhan Parthasarathy, Event Coordinator: Varsha Desai, Jt. Event Coordinators: Namrata Soni, Jasjeet Parmar, Sushama Verulkar, and Sudha Shukla. We are guaranteed to have
an exciting year ahead with this team of very talented individuals and a great leadership.
Thank you—Volunteers
IAGT recognized five of its great team of volunteers, Manju Kaul, Santanu Das, Nita Amin, Namrata Soni and
Rajesh Kanderi, for their exceptional contributions this year by presenting them with plaques and certificates of
appreciation during Diwali Celebrations. And as a SPECIAL THANKS to ALL 2007 IAGT VOLUNTEERS, there
will be a volunteer discount at the DESI DHAMAKA—New Years Eve Bash. Early Bird Volunteer Members Pay ONLY $25 PER TICKET or $40 PER COUPLE. See attached flyer for details.
UTSAV INDIA FEST 07
DIWALI CELEBRATION
Volume III, Issue 4 November 2007
The Oklahoma Desi
The Oklahoma Desi
IAGT
P.O. Box No. 54682
Tulsa, OK 74155-4682
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