FREMONT: On the occasion of beginning of Telugu New Year "sarvadhari naama samvatsaram", Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) and BharatFamily.com presented a day-long Telugu Mela on April 5 at Hindu Temple, Sunnyvale. Highlights of the day-long event 'Mela' included "Youth Talent Show" during the day and a spectacular cultural event in the evening.

The dances, songs, and music presented during both the Youth Talent Show and in the evening cultural program were a feast to the audience as all of the performances were well presented and fascinating. The Youth Talent show has been providing a platform for youth to showcase their talents in music, dance, singing, and other fields. This year's talent show had more than 70 entries in various categories with over 150 children participating in sub-junior, junior and senior categories. The show was anchored by youth introducing the performers and items in Telugu.

The Youth Talent show was very efficiently and professionally organized and conducted by Srilu Veligeti, Vijaya Aasuri, Preethi, and Aparna Pasumarthy.The hall was well decorated and adorned with traditional Telugu toranalu, mango leaves leaving the audience with a distinct impression of celebrating Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh. BATA advisory board member and Cultural Chair Mrs. Vijaya Aasuri started the evening program and announced the program was developed to showcase and celebrate Telugu culture while entertaining the audience.

At the beginning of the evening's cultural program, Vijaya Aasuri introduced the American Telugu Association (ATA) representatives (Chandra Reddy Gavva, Mohan Mallam, Hanimireddy Lakireddy, Rajendar Reddy Jinna, and Buchanna Gajula) who attended the event. Speaking at this occasion, representatives of ATA wished the audience a happy Ugadi. Dr. Hanimireddy Lakireddy served as the Chief Guest of the event.

Dr. Lakireddy applauded the fully packed attendees in embracing and promoting the Telugu culture and traditions with lot of enthusiasm. The main cultural event in the evening started with a Prayer song directed by Jayashree Varadarajan. Then a dance "okapari okapari" by anjali and Ramya reminded the beauty of classical art.

Then the dance for "sita rama kalyanam" by 40 kids showcased the insights of lord Sita Rama wedding. Coordinating 40 young kids in a single dance was a challenging task, but the directors Vijaya Aasuri and Srilu Veligeti prepared the kids so nicely that the kids performed to the script excellently. Following by this was another classical dance "Ksheeradhi Kanyakau" by Anjali and Ramya enlighten the audience with classical form of art.

The mini skit show "Ugadi special" by Sirisha, Chakrapani, Prasad, and Kamesh brought the audience to the lighter side of the life with laughter and comedy. This was directed by Brahmanandam Gorthi. The finale was set to some fast foot tapping hits from recent movies. Several vendors such as tax consultants, Telugu TV channels, boutiques, mehendi, jewelry, fashion dressings, financial services, real estate, food stalls, etc. were setup at the Mela. Part of the talent show, BATA in association with AAA Gems and Beads organized an Art Camp and Painting Competitions headed by Arvind Kotha (a Guinness book record holder).

There were over 100 kids participated in this art camp and the winners were awarded with the recognition trophies.The following businesses sponsored the event: Grand Sponsor: BharatFamily.com; Event Promoted by: Ravi Tax Services & Raji Insurance; Platinum Sponsors: Namasta Plaza, Channel Real Estate & Mortgage; Gold Sponsors: Shree Travels, IndoGain, Peacock Indian Cuisine.