CHICAGO: Members of Telugu community from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin celebrated Dussehra and Deepavali under the aegis of Tri-States Telugu Association (TTA), a not-for-profit organization, at Hindu Temple in Lemont, a south side suburb of Chicago
The religious fervor, scintillating cultural show, and fierce competition for sports trophies were the hallmarks of the celebrations. The program kick started with the traditional lighting of lamp by the Board of Directors of the TTA, which was followed by the singing of the Indian National Anthem.
Chandini Duuvuri, Board Member, and TTA in her inaugural address observed that while getting rid of the ‘demons’, present in society, it is important to grapple with the evils within oneself and overcome them.
The one-hour long chanting of Lalitha Sahasranama was spiritually invigorating.
“Mere chanting of the Lalitha Sahasranama is not enough; one should know its meaning in order to win over the evil forces within one”, urged one of the priests at the venue.
The mesmerizing Dandia dance by men and women together, their traditional costumes, toe-tapping music, and distinct sound of brightly decorated wooden sticks enthralled the audience.
A highlight of the celebrations was the high-voltage cultural extravaganza, in which about 130 singers, dancers, and mimicry artists participated. About 30 exhilarating performances of various genres of dances showcased the full spectrum of colorful life of Telugu people.
The cultural program also involved the presentation of classical, semi-classical, and light music, both from Bollywood and Tollywood movies. The singers not only entertained older audience but also connected equally with the young generation with hit numbers.
The musical band, which played soulful melodies, left the entire audience swaying to its magic. Even the elderly people gave in to the festive mood, took the dance floor, matched the expert dancers, step for step, and provided a pleasant surprise to their younger counterparts and kids.
A big highlight of the evening was mimicry by Maruthi Satyavolu, which was a great mix of humor and voice modulation, imitating a variety of Telugu politicians and film artists representing the last three generations.
Another unique feature of the event was the highly competed Chess and Tennis Tournaments. In the Chess Tournament, Shyam Ganesh and Shreya Bhagi won the in the adults’ category, the first and second prizes went to Naveen Nagilla and Sameer Karthik Bhagi respectively. In the Tennis Tournament, Tejrupakekkurthi and Rakesh Avadanula won the first and second prizes respectively in the kids’ category.
In the adults’ category, Srinivasaekkurthi and Subramanian Kandasamy won the first prizes and Vijay Sivashanmugasundaram and Vijay S, won the second prizes.
TTA thanked all the participants, attendees, and sponsors for their support in making the event a huge success during the busy Navarathri season. TTA also welcomed new members/participants from the Chicagoland to register on its website www.telugu.org and show support to its upcoming events.
The Board of Directors comprises Jagadish Kanuru, Aparna Ayyalaraju, Bhaskara Reddy Karri, Chandini Duvvuri, Veeraswamy Achanta, Ramakrishna Korrapolu, Rajani Akurati, Hemanth Pappu, Vaidehi Sriram, Lakshmi Duvvapu, Neelu Mylavarapu, Ravi Tammana, Swapna Pula, Pranati Kaligotla, Prasad Jasti, Prasad Maruvada, Srinath Vasireddy, Radhika Garimella and Raghu Moturi.
Asian Media USA
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