An unlimited supply of masti, those are words I would use to describe the  TAGB sankrnati celebrations. I had the pleasure to take part and witness the Sankranthi 2010 event hosted by the Telugu Association of Greater Boston (TAGB) on January 30, 2010. It was a literally a festival that came alive out of the pages of memories held by those who have immigrated here. From the thoughts of Bhogi and flying kites the atmosphere buzzed with joy, chatter, delicious food and wonderful entertainment. A special note of congratulations to Dr. Surya Jayanthi. He definitely ended his term as President with a memorable blast.

            TAGB was able to hold its second annual Adult & Teen Sankranti program. In the year 2009 the cultural committee daringly took a risk and proposed the innovative idea to the community and was able to administrate a perfect plan and put forth an extraordinary performance that consisted of purely teens and adults.

Once again this year adults and teens came together and shed their work, home, school life and the materialistic world behind them to reveal their hidden talents. From high school students, college students, computer engineers, doctors, housewives, teachers, etc. were all cast under a spell that magically turned them into artists. Some showed off natural gifts and talents that have been practiced for years. While some tried new ventures and succeeded. As an audience member I bow down to their courage, dedication, talent, and enthusiasm. I applaud every choreographer and participant.

The MCs for the evening were  Sri Subramanyam Karedhla and Kum. Manasa Jayanthi. Sri Subramanyam Karedhla  was a very eloquent speaker and his telugu was flawless. As per tradition the evening started with the songs “Vandematharam and Maa Telugu Thalliki” , Dr. Sasi Sompuram rendered both songs beautifully. As per another tradition bhogipallu for kids under the age of six was taken place on stage and were blessed by the elders of the community. With Republic day being the same day  it was nice to remember our father of the nation , Gandhiji as Sandeep Kurapati sang a song from the movie Mahatma while playing slides of Gandhi’s remarkable work. Smt. Durga Devarakonda and Chi. Sridhar Sivapurapu shared the tunes of the magical and auspicious veena while one played Bho Shambo and the other played Endaro Mahanbhavallu. Anil Ponapalli and his friends put together a musical comedy skit that made everyone laugh so hard that they couldn’t feel their cheeks anymore. Smt. Sailaja Chowdary choreographed the song “Oka Pari Oka Pari” in kuchipudi format while using Anitha and Nikitha Kodali to depict Vishnumurthy and Sri Maha Lakshimi. Six daring and dynamic pairs (husband and wife combination) from Acton, Boxboro and Northboro  worked day and night under the guidance and choreographer of Kum. Manasa Jayanthi and performed a kollattam piece to a song from the popular movie Arundhathi. Their energy, costumes, and groovy moves made it look like an actual Sankrathi festival celebration on stage. Another special event was mimicry, Mookabhinayam performed by Mala Reddy and Jaganath Reddy, called Dhanthavadhanam.. Besides these there so many more tremendous acts. Along with the entertainment came food catered by Minerva and fabulous stalls that sold Indian jewelry, clothing and so much more, and charities that came to share what they work for and believe in. There was also an award presentation for the past committees and the ceremony of passing on the responsibilities to the new executive committee as they were introduced. 

•   TAGB Glory 2008-2010,  a small Movie file : 
  
•  http://www.tagb.org/TAGB_Sankranthi2010/TAGB_Glory_2008_2010/TagbGlory_2008_2010.htm  
•   TAGB Accomplishments (Power point file) :    
• http://www.tagb.org/TAGB_Sankranthi2010/TAGB_accomplishments_2008_10.ppt
•    TAGB SankranthiPhoto Album (Phots)  :  
  
•  http://www.tagb.org/TAGB_Sankranthi2010/photos/Index.html

 In the middle of the event, according to new Bylaws adopted on January 9^th BoT chair and Election Committee introduced the new unanimously elected Executive Committee and BoTs for Year 2010 –2011. Sri Prakash Reddy as President, Dr. Murthy Kanneganti as President Elect, Sri Koteswara Rao Kandukuri as General Secretary, Sri Siva Dogiparthi as Treasurer, Sreenivas Chaganti  as Joint Tresurer, Sri Srenivas Kollipara as Joint Treasurer and Smt. Padma Parakala as Cultural Secretary. Sri Mohan Nannapaneni as BoT Chair, Dr.Paparao Gunduvaram as BoT Vice Chair, Dr. Ammani Dasari, Sri Purna Rao Bolineni, Sri Babu Rao Polavarapu, Sri Srinivas Kaki and Dr. Surya Jayanthi as rest of the BoTs. Every one welcomed the new committee and wished them to continue to take the TAGB to the new heights.

All in all to reiterate it was a magnificent show. As said before an unlimited supply of Masti!

Bravo TAGB!

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