Congratulations to Ragini Seth and the India Society of Worcester for bringing a refreshing one of a kind entertainment on Saturday, April 26th with poem recitals of three well-known Hindi poets of India. Starting at 6 PM, the India Center in Shrewsbury thundered with non-stop laughter and applause for three hours with the wholesome entertaining performance by Dr Sunil Jogi, Dr Suresh Awasthi and Shri Gajender Solanki in a combination of rip-roaring humor, political satire, and heart rending patriotic theme. The poems contained a plethora of critical remarks in different genre of parody, satire, patriotism and Intellectualism, covering all walks of life. The poets presented a vivid picture of the society and poked fun with their witty compositions mixed with deep humor and delectable satire on topics ranging from Indian and American politics to comical human tendencies to human emotions, family life, religious beliefs and social issues to evergreen Laloo ji, Mallika Sherawat, and husband-wife relationships, leaving everyone laugh to their heart’s content. They infused intellect and idiocy in their rendition with such deft and dexterity that the result was a sheer delight. That life’s simple situations and going-ons in the world can be so funny was ably reflected in their renditions.

From jovial verses on love between a simple farmer and a heiress by Dr. Jogi to more serious ones on motherland and martyrdom by Shri Solanki and more memorable ones by Dr. Awasthi, the show was well coordinated and executed by the trio to keep the mood and momentum. It was full of brain storming fun and bursting laughter from beginning till end and was the most hilarious Kavi Sammelan in the history of Boston. This was an evening that nobody in India Center will forget. The program started with a welcome note by Ragini Seth and a short introduction of poets by Alok Misra. Dr Sunil Jogi was the master of ceremony who successfully conducted the stage and effortlessly bonded with the audience. The event was concluded with a Thanks note by Ragini Seth. The audience were delighted and were all praise of the poets for the moment of happiness in a lovely blend of poems that not only enthralled them but enriched them on various sensitive issues. They loved the event and wanted more of such par-excellence entertaining events in the future. In reminisce, these events wake up a proud India in us and tell us that we must keep our culture alive even after coming away from our country.

The Kavi Sammelan in Boston was part of 15-city marathon tour of the United States and Canada organized by the International Hindi Association in its continuing service to Indian culture and studies for over quarter of a century (visit www.hindi.org).  The tour from March 27 to April 27 covered Dallas, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Raleigh, Washington DC, New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, New York, and Toronto.

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