Association of Indians in America (AIA)
True Love, indeed: A tribute to mothers
True Love, indeed: A tribute to mothers
By Heidi M. Pascual
On June 6, I was once again celebrating an important gathering with my Indian
American friends at Verona High School Performing Arts Center. It was a belated
Mothers Day event, which, nevertheless, was well attended and given so much
significance by its organizer, the local Association of Indians in America (AIA). AIA
never ceases to amaze me because of its ability to gather hundreds upon hundreds of
Indian Americans in the Madison area whenever it wants to. I am likewise in awe at
my friends in the Indian American community who actively participate in every single
event, contributing not only volunteer time, but funds and musical performances that
reflect their beloved culture.
That day, doctors, medical scientists, professors, consultants, business owners,
engineers, computer scientists, professionals, plain housewives, musicians, and
people from all walks of life came together and became one in paying tribute to their
mothers “from whom everything sprang.” The whole program — more than 20 numbers
in total — was lovingly dedicated to moms. It was wonderful to watch
intergenerational performances, including traditional and modern dances (from the
classical to Bollywood), especially from very young children who showed discipline in
perfecting their numbers to please their moms. We salute the couples — moms and
dads — who danced the Dhamaka number: Aruna & Arvind Chakravarthi; Mala &
Sameer Mathur; Sowmya & Shashank Partha; Mekhala & Sameer Patil; Lalita and
Swaminathan Balachandran; Vidya & Vijeesh Padmanaban; Bhawani & Ravi Ballamudi;
and Anupama & Gopala Krishnan. They were simply awesome!
To the AIA board and Pres. Aruna, congratulations for a job so well done!
On June 6, I was once again celebrating an important gathering with my Indian
American friends at Verona High School Performing Arts Center. It was a belated
Mothers Day event, which, nevertheless, was well attended and given so much
significance by its organizer, the local Association of Indians in America (AIA). AIA
never ceases to amaze me because of its ability to gather hundreds upon hundreds of
Indian Americans in the Madison area whenever it wants to. I am likewise in awe at
my friends in the Indian American community who actively participate in every single
event, contributing not only volunteer time, but funds and musical performances that
reflect their beloved culture.
That day, doctors, medical scientists, professors, consultants, business owners,
engineers, computer scientists, professionals, plain housewives, musicians, and
people from all walks of life came together and became one in paying tribute to their
mothers “from whom everything sprang.” The whole program — more than 20 numbers
in total — was lovingly dedicated to moms. It was wonderful to watch
intergenerational performances, including traditional and modern dances (from the
classical to Bollywood), especially from very young children who showed discipline in
perfecting their numbers to please their moms. We salute the couples — moms and
dads — who danced the Dhamaka number: Aruna & Arvind Chakravarthi; Mala &
Sameer Mathur; Sowmya & Shashank Partha; Mekhala & Sameer Patil; Lalita and
Swaminathan Balachandran; Vidya & Vijeesh Padmanaban; Bhawani & Ravi Ballamudi;
and Anupama & Gopala Krishnan. They were simply awesome!
To the AIA board and Pres. Aruna, congratulations for a job so well done!
(From top) Melba Jesudason, Kumud
Gupta; Swaminathan & Lalita
Balachandran; Gurdip & Dorothy Brar
Gupta; Swaminathan & Lalita
Balachandran; Gurdip & Dorothy Brar
| Lakshmy Ramaswamy & Shreya Jayaram |
(Above three photos) Couples Dance elicited
applause
applause
| Harini Desikan |
Men served food to the attendees.
Bolly Busters choreographed by Arul
Sundaramoorthy
Sundaramoorthy
Dhamaka Teens (L-R) Keerthana Pittala, Nivedita Prabakaran, & Teja Vemuganti
| Surya Ganesan |
| Tamil rap by Harish Prabaharan |
Song-Maa (L-R) by Rohit Malshe, Ravi Manghnani and Deepa Sanwal
| Fusion dance |
Madison Muskeeteers
Jai Ho dance choreographed
by Sowmya & Anupama Gopal
by Sowmya & Anupama Gopal
| Kalaanjali Shool of Dance & Music bharatnatyam performance |
Young men perform as Dhamaka teens
