Over Six Hundred Attend 2017 IANH Diwali Festival

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Over Six Hundred Attend 2017 IANH Diwali Festival

Press Release
10/26/2017

Diwali is a festival of spreading light, love and joy, and 2017 IANH Diwali and Dandiya Festival did exactly that - it brought smiles on the faces of all those who attended this community celebration which was held on Saturday, 14th Oct 2017 at Nashua High School North. Great teamwork of all the volunteers who put in their labor of love and the performers who rehearsed for weeks to give their best made it a grand success. There were many highlights that gave a festive touch to the event and made it a very pleasant experience for the attendees. Close to 200 participants came together to show their talent in dance, music, skits and fashion flare with their friends and family. Amidst the dazzling stage, colorful costumes and exhilarating music, the festival of light was celebrated in its true spirit by over 600 attendees!

For the first time, IANH presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr. Prithvi Kumar, the current Treasurer and Ex-President of IANH under whose leadership the organization grew manifold to attain the stature that it has today. It was a humbling moment to felicitate Mr. Prithvi Kumar for his tremendous contribution towards the growth of IANH for over 2 decades. He was very keen on serving the community and was closely involved in service at Nashua Soup Kitchen for the past 17 years. He also played an important role in helping immigrant organizations as well as in resettling the refugees. He firmly believes that he is God's instrument and serving humans is like serving God. He has led an exemplary life by his selfless way of life to serve the community and has inspired many who have known him.

The invited guest artists added a wonderful touch to the entire program by their performances. Ms. Neha
Parikh, one of the well-known Indian classical dance Guru and the Director of Chidambaram Dance Academy in Nashua, gave an uplifting performance in which she presented two acts "Pushpanjali", a devotional depiction and "Rusli Radha", an act based on Marathi Poetry. The audience also experienced some hilarious moments witnessing a short comedy skit presented by the artists of SETU, directed and written by Mr. Subrata Das.

The spectacular stage decoration was provided by Ms. Ambika Mangtani, Ms. Kruti Shah and their team from Gatim Decorators of Nashua while the outside decorations by Ms. Sunitha Srinath, Ms. Suma Anand and Ms. Lakshmi Rajagopal from Spatik Enterprises of Nashua added a festive touch at the main entrance and cafeteria.

The dances were performed by the students of Neha Parikh's Chidambaram Dance Academy, Jasmine Shah's Aangikam Dance Academy, Nikita Rao's Bollywood Dance Academy, Randell Dsouza's Araya Dance Academy, Himanshi Patel's Kathak Dance Academy and Padma Dabbi. In addition, there were other young emerging choreographers who brought in their students as well to perform. Students of Jyoti Sharma, presented a classical segment of Shiva Stuti in Raag Yaman while there were other Bollywood vocal music performances by the local artists who added a musical touch to the entire show. Last but not the least, the fashion show was like a cherry on the cake! Many participated with their friends and families to be part of the fashion flare to flaunt their best festive attire. It gave them an opportunity to bond with the community as they walked the stage and greeted the audience while experiencing the glamourous moment filled with fun and fashion!

The volunteers of IANH led by Mr. Prasad Dabbi carried on the Hurricane Relief Fund raising drive, where they collected a sum of $3500 to be donated for the recent Hurricane victims in Houston, Miami and Puerto Rico.

During the social hour, everyone enjoyed the delicious North and South Indian cuisine by the Gurnam
Catering Service and Udipi Nashua Restaurant, which was followed by Dandiya dancing with DJ Jay Patel of Midnight Productionz, along with live Dhol. Everyone got an opportunity to hit the dance floor and do the dandiya with their friends and families amidst colorful lighting!

The event was generously sponsored by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Kay Pee Jewelers and Trupti Patel and Associates.

There were over a dozen vendors who brought with them fancy clothing, jewelry and other festive goods that were very well received by the community. The precious moments were captured by Mr. Narendra Sharma and Ms Kruti Parekh of Reflection Photo Services from Nashua.

India Association of New Hampshire (IANH) is a 501 c(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization that serves the local community in many ways including but not limited to cultural events, NSF education bees, public service including service at local soup kitchens and Nashua Children's home. The youth wing of IANH is also very active in fundraising efforts for various charities. The current executive committee consists of Mr. Balaji Radakrishnan (President), Mr. Manoj Chourasia (VP), Dr. Tej Dhakar (Secretary), Mr. Prithvi Kumar (Treasurer), Ms. Jyoti Sharma (Cultural Chair), Ms. Barinder Ahluwalia (Public Service Chair), Mr. Nagendra Bhanu (PR Chair), Ms. Vandana Dhakar (Membership Chair), Mr. Prasad Dabbi (Education Chair), Mr. Arvind Patlolla (Web & Social Media Chair), Mr. Anand Thippeswamy, Mr. Ashish Bharadwaj, Ms. Parvathi Rao, Ms. Sushmita Korvi-Anand, Ms. Urvashi Gupta and Mr. Subramaniam Karedla. IANH provides numerous opportunities for the community members to volunteer. For more information, please visit www.IANH.org.

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