The India Association of New Hampshire (IANH) hosted a grand variety entertainment program at the Merrimack High School to raise funds to help the Tsunami victims. IANH President Prithvi Kumar, back from his recent visit to Southern India, told the audience about the death and destruction caused by the Tsunami disaster and the efforts being made to help the victims. IANH Vice President Tony Epaphras, who was at Nagercoil in Kerala when the Tsunami wreaked its devastation, gave the audience members a touching description of the day's events. He told those listening that watching the after-effects of the disaster was a very humbling experience, which teaches us to appreciate what we have. NH Senator Lou D'Allesandro and NH Representative Bea Francoeur commended the Indian American community for bringing cultural diversity to the state and for its efforts to help rebuild the lives of the people affected by the Tsunami disaster.

Over one hundred and fifty guests came despite the cold weather to enjoy the entertainment program. The performances were captivating and transported the audience back to India and its different regions for a few hours. Deepa Mangalat, Chair of the IANH Cultural Committee, coordinated the entertainment program. The program was compered very ably by Ashish Jain and Srisai Rao Seethamraju.

The program started with a bang, when Bharatnatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar from Bangalore, a student at the Boston Conservatory, performed 3 dances Ganesha Stuti--”Gajavandana”, Shiva Kriti and a Javali —“Mariyada Thiliyakane”. The audience agreed that her technique was fabulous and her performance spellbinding.

Rajesh Saluja, accompanied by Parag Shashtri on the tabla, sang several Hindi songs. Ishita Tyagi, Natasha Patel and Alina Dar students of Nashua High School entertained the audience with their dances set to Hindi film songs. Students of Kiranmayi Totapalli performed two Kuchipudi dances set to melodious classical music. Amritha, Meghna, Sribhavana, Pranathi, Lekha and Sachi danced to traditional Tamil folk songs Kummi and Kolattam. SriSai Rao accompanied by his wife Suman sang lovely Hindi and Telugu melodies. The children were all attention when SriSai Rao performed his magic tricks. Ashish Jain entertained the audience with his Hasya kavita and Shayiri.

Sandhya Sridhar and her students presented a moving tribute to M.S. Subbulakshmi, performing for the audience beautiful renderings of her most classic songs. The grand finale was a an extremely energetic group dance by the students of Jasmine Shah of the Aangikam Dance academy, performing to the music of the song Dholi Taro Dhol from the movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

IANH President Prithvi Kumar and Media Relations Director Manoj Chaurasia handed participation certificates to the children who performed at the event. The program ended with the national anthems of India and USA. Everyone complimented the organizers on how well the program was organized with so many top-notch items.

Nihita Patel, Netra Rajnikant, Sharda Gupta and Bala Gazula sold delicious homemade snacks at the venue and donated the entire proceeds to the IANH Tsunami Relief Fund.

IANH raised more than $2000 from the fundraiser. An additional $3000 has been raised through generous donations from the members and the public-at-large for a total of over $5000. IANH Executive Committee will soon disburse the funds to charitable organizations engaged in Tsunami relief efforts.

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