September 2013 • Vol. 44 • Issue 6

India Day in Pictures India’s Flag flies high and proud above the State Capitol as State Representative Prasad Srinivasan addresses a crowd of 550+

The Cultural Show Steals the Day!

Paradise Biryani Pointe caters for India Day!

Miss India CT. 2012-2013, Ronita Choudhuri, inspires the

Gayatri Mahesh sings the American and Indian National Anthem

INDIA DAY 2013 Governor Dannel P. Malloy Greets our Community!

On August 31, IAOGH celebrated India's 66th Independence Day at the State Capitol Building in Hartford. Governor Dannel Malloy was the Chief Guest presiding over the day's events, which included a very patriotic themed youth cultural show. State Representative from Glastonbury, Dr. Prasad Srinivasan was also an Honored Guest of India Day. Over 550 guests welcomed Governor Malloy and State Rep. Dr. Srinivasan on stage for the singing of the American and Indian National Anthems as

India’s Flag was hoisted high above the Capitol Building. Governor Malloy addressed the crowd with a very positive speech, praising Indians for their entrepreneurial spirit, saying that the Indian community are 'givers and not takers’ who add economic and cultural value to the country. The crowd was highly energized after the Governors speech. An official State Proclamation recognizing August 15th as India Day in CT. was presented by Governor Malloy to Vijay Faldu and Mukesh Desai, President and V. President of IAOGH. - T.Vallam-

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India Day Celebration On behalf of the entire board and youth committee of IAOGH, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day! India has flourished for 66 years by developing at a rapid speed and spreading its culture overseas at the same time. Even though we were under colonial rule for over 250 years, today I am extremely proud to say that our India is the world’s largest democracy!

To celebrate this special occasion, IAOGH recently held its annual Independence Day celebration on August 31st at the Capitol Building in Hartford. As with every year, our show included cultural performances, flag hoisting, and lunch. This year, we celebrated together with the Tamil Sangam of CT, the Gujarati Association of CT, and

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Vallabhdham Temple of Newington. Each organization supported us and performed for the show. We had musical performances as well as dance performances. We saw kids of all age groups dance on various Indian dance styles such as, Bharatnatyam, Rajasthani Folk, Bhangra, Bollywood, and Tamily folk. The kids displayed traditional Indian culture through their authentic costumes, props, and music. I was very happy to see that these kids were proud of their Indian heritage, despite the fact that some of them were born and brought up in the US.

We were also honored to have the presence of Governor Dannel P. Malloy as we hoisted the Indian national flag on top of the Capitol Building. Governor Malloy showed full support for our organization and our work in

the community. Miss India CT 2012, Ronita Choudhuri, also graced event by sharing her experience with the Miss India CT pageant and encouraging our youth. The most exciting moment for me was when the Indian national flag was hoisted on top of the State Capitol building and everyone present sung the Indian national anthem in one voice! Such a visual is very rare, especially outside of India, and we are thankful to the Governor, the Hartford police department, and the Capitol building for giving us this honor.

Overall the event was a huge success and we would like to thank Governor Malloy, Ronita Choudhuri, and all the supporting organizations for their wishes, help, and support towards the event. A huge thank you to all the performers that made the event so much fun! Pictures of the event are available on the IAOGH Facebook page.

w by Purvi Shah

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Across3. Krishna's birth mother's name was7. Krishna's adoptive mother was8. Krishna's best friend while growing up

was9. Krishna's adoptive father was

10. Krishna's older brother's name was __________

Down1. Krishna's birth father's name was2. In his later years, Krishna recited the

________ to Arjuna at the battfield of Kurukshetra. Herein lies the answers to all of man's life questions.

4. Krishna is the ______ avatar of Vishnu5. Krishna grew up in this town 6. Krishna was born in a jail in this town

_________7. The night that Krishna was born, he

taken across the __________ river for safety

10. Krishna loved to steal _________

KKID’S CORNER

KIDS, SCAN THE CODE BELOW

Take 5 minutes to listen to this beautiful Krishna melody in a

quiet space. I often listen to this song in the morning with my kids

and I find that it brings a lot of peace to our mornings. Parents, let me know your kids reaction to this

song at editor@iaogh.org

KRISHNA There are many stories of Krishna that engages a child’s imagination. Why? Because every child is naughty yet lovable, just like Krishna. While Krishna stole butter with his friends, our kids sneak cookies before dinner! Yes, Krishna’s mother, Yashoda, would get very frustrated with her son also. But, her anger would melt at the sight of her son’s smile. Sound familiar? The spirit of Krishna is in every child and the pure love of Yashoda is present in every mother’s heart. This month we celebrated, Janmashtami, Krishna’s birthday. Share a Krishna story with your children. Stories expand a child’s knowledge and imagination. Stories allow them to relate to their own experiences in school or at home. Listening to stories helps a child gain confidence about themselves. Try it…

Created by Tejal Vallam

The Birth of Krishna – Janmashtami

KK rishna was the 8th child born to Devaki and Vasudev. Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born to kill his maternal uncle, Kansa. Kansa was the vicious ruler of Mathura. Kansa imprisoned his sister, Devaki and Vasudev, because a prophet told him that their eighth child would kill him. Not willing to end his rule, Kansa had already killed Devaki’s first seven children upon their birth. Hence, Krishna was born in a prison in Mathura. The night of Krishna’s birth, at the midnight hour, the prison gates opened by themselves while the guards fell into a deep sleep. And, Vasudev carried the baby Krishna across the Yamuna River to a small town called Gokul. Vasudev then switched Krishna with anther baby born the same night to Yashoda and Nanda. This is how Krishna survived. Yashoda and Nanda raised Krishna. Krishna also grew up with his older brother, Balram. Krishna and his best friend, Sudama, were very naughty boys who loved to steal butter from all the neighbor’s houses! But, Krishna was no ordinary boy. At the young age of 11, he killed Kansa and freed his real parents, Devaki and Vasudev, from prison. Later in his life, Krishna becomes the famous charioteer of Arjun in the famous Mahabharata battle. It was on the Kurukshetra battlefield that Krishna recited our most revered scripture, The Bhagvad Gita, in preparing Arjun for his most difficult life battle.

JJaannmmaasshhttaammii

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PRAISE FOR MAGIC MIKE DJ’S: J

- Magic Mike- awesome music and a huge hit- we had an AMAZING time.

ylist of songs but Mike and his crew read the crowd, adAAAny DJ can play a play

- Magic Mike and his drummer Bobby Dhol were phenomenal!!

Magic Mike ome music and a huge hit aweso we had an AMAZING time.

- ss ddrruummmmeerr BBoobbbbyy DDhhooll wweerree pphheennoommeennaall!!!!s drummer Bobby Dhol were phenomenal!!MMaaggiicc MMiikkee aanndd hhiiss Magic Mike and his- I work with a lot of the DJ's on the East Coast, and Mike is one of the best.

THE IAGOH 2013 TEAM SAYS…

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For those of you who may not know Aneri Pattani, allow me to introduce this extraordinary young woman on the rise! Aneri, a recent graduate of Cheshire

High School, has a long list of remarkable achievements that would make the average adult wish they paid more attention in high school i.e. yours truly! Full disclosure: Aneri is my niece. So here goes the award list (short-listed for space!). Aneri was the Salutatorian of her graduating class, she was a U.S. Presidential Scholar Award recipient (only 141 students get this award in the country), she completed her Arangetram, is part of almost every student honor society; and lastly, she is attending Northeastern University on a full scholarship studying journalism! WOW! My head hurts just thinking about all the work she had to do to get all these awards. But, Aneri is not all academics. She also played on her high school volleyball team and writes for local newspapers. Let’s chat with Aneri…

How did you manage your time in high school? Lists, lists, and more lists! I'm very big on organization. Every night, I make a list of what needs to get done and put it in order of priority. Once I have a list, I find it a lot easier to get to work and stick to my plan. I enjoy crossing off completed tasks and seeing myprogress.

Who influenced you the most while growing up? How did they help you become the person you are today? I think like most kids, my greatest influence growing up were my parents. They shaped my values and ideals. In addition to them, my brother, Alok, has been a big influence on me. He taught me what it means to work hard and care about your education.

What is your proudest achievement? My overall proudest achievement is undoubtedly

the completion of my Arangetram. This is something I dreamed of doing since I started taking Bharat Natyam lessons when I was five years old. I never knew if I could turn it into reality, though. It took a lot of hard work - 6 hours of practice a day, a whole summer spent training, etc. - but it was entirely worth it. Nothing compares to the confidence my Arangetram has given me and the appreciation of Indian culture I gained from studying Bharat Natyam for almost ten years.

What do you appreciate most about Indian culture? From my experience with Indian culture, what I

love the most about it is the freedom to express yourself. I love Indian movies, music, food, clothes, and so much more. I think the diversity in each of these options - from romantic movies to action ones, from ghazals to indipop, from chaat to dosa, from salwar kameez to saris - allows for a lot of room to express yourself. I especially feel this way about Bharat Natyam. Even though the dance form is strict and precise, there is still so much you can do to personalize your dance. My dance teacher taught me this and I tried to do that in my Arangetram. That was just my way of using Indian culture to express myself.

How did you discover your love of journalism? When I was in second grade, I had a great teacher

that gave me extra writing assignments outside of class and helped me build my skills. From then, I knew that I absolutely loved writing. However, I didn't want to be an author because I didn't like the idea of sticking with one assignment (one book) for so long. That's when I decided to look into journalism. When I got to high school, I joined the school newspaper and absolutely loved it! Since then, I've worked at local papers and attended camps that have reaffirmed my belief that journalism is the career for me. You get to write every day and always about something new, so you never stop learning.

What is your favorite book/author? My favorite book is The Giver by Lois Lowry. I

love the way is forces the reader to confront the harsh reality and the amazing privilege/power of choice.

What would be your dream job? My dream job is to work as a world news reporter

for The New York Times.

What is the best advice you could give to a freshman in high school today? Try to find some balance. It's nearly impossible, but I think the best way to enjoy high school and achieve something is to aim for balance. Take on challenging academics, but also make time to lead clubs or participate in sports. And don't forget to give yourself a day every now and then to chill out or spend time with your friends. There's no perfect way to achieve this balance, and of course I'm still working on it, but I think keeping this thought in mind helped me a lot in high school.

AA light--hhearted conversation with Aneri Pattani bby Tejal VVallam

Best of Luck Aneri! I have a feeling we will see your name in the NY Times in the near future! TT.V.

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September 2013 • Vol. 44 • Issue 6

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CHAMPIONS IN THE COMMUNITY! IAOGH CONGRATULATES:

SAVE THE DATE – UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oct. 12th: Raas-Garba @ Newington HS 6pm -12am

Nov. 9th: IAOGH Annual Diwali Dinner 3pm- 9pm

PO BOX 436 Rocky Hill, CT 06067

IAOGH

Sanjay Patel, Dipen Dedania, Bharat Rana, Vinod Viroja, Arvind Bhut, Sanjay Gatiaya.

KPSNA VOLLEYBALL TEAM

IAOGH CRICKET TEAM

IAOGH 2013 COMMITTEE MEMBER DIRECTORY

President – Vijay Faldu 860-602-0201 V. President – Mukesh Desai 860-529-4141 Treasurer – Dinesh Bhagani 860-655-4422 Secretary- Rajesh Parekh 860-208-7342 Editor- Tejal Vallam 860-372-4824 Co-Editor – Purvi Shah 860-529-9637 Directors:

o Madhu Reddy 860-918-2921 o Kumkum Jhawar 860-763-4649 o Romi Ahluwalia 860-836-5777 o Purnima Shah 860-529-9637 o Rupal Ravat 860-513-1418o Rachna Khanna 860-202-5782 o Darshan Kansagara 860-836-8704

Support Committee:

Raghu Bhajwa, Priti Limbachia, Lalit Pandey, Himanshu Patel, Jayshree Patel, Bharat Trivedi

Youth Committee:

Parth Desai, Mahi Arora, Abhinav Modi, Shrina Faldu, Lopa Pandya, Nisha Parekh,

Rina Patel, Sashwat Baxi