South Asian Spice By Harish Kotecha
Gujarati Samaj Picnic Gujarati Samaj of Greater Austin held their 19th Annual Family Picnic at Elizabeth Milburn Park in Cedar Park on April 21. Over 240 people attended the event to socialize, enjoy delicious ethnic Guajarati foods and games including Antakshari which was played as the sun set. Families took time out to reconnect as both children and adults enjoyed a magic show, moonwalk, housie game, sack race, water balloon toss, and of course cricket. The picnic was marked by the variety of Gujarati delicacies, from garma garam bhajiya to papad & papdi. More information on Gujarati Samaj is available at www. gujaustin.org. Nepali New Year Celebration The Austin Bhutanese Community high school and middle school students presented an inspired performance to celebrate the 2069th Nepali New Year in Austin. The colorful musical dances included a dance depicting friendship and another, a relationship between daughter and father. “Austin has about 70 immigrant/refuge families who have been resettled by Caritas and Refuge Services of Texas since 2009,” said Bishnu Sapkota, one of the community leaders. The function at Austin Event Center was well attended by the Bhutanese families, guests from schools and resettlement agencies, friends and volunteers
involved with Bhutanese families. The Nepali New Year (Navavarsha) Vikram Samvat marks the victory of emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain over Sakas in 56 BCE. Ugadi Observed in Austin
9th Annual Bollywood Bash Raises Awareness, Funds for SAHELI
Paneer Sisters, performed a show-stopping dance number to a medley of popular Bollywood songs, as the night wore on to a 2 a.m. peak that found enthusiastic dancers requesting ‘just one more song.’ Kaushlesh Biyani, a Houston based photographer, captured the night while Henna artist Megan Zvezda provided creative henna tattoos. Event organizers Selina Keilani and Tracy Thottam led the third edition of the annual fundraiser, assisted by tech-expert Arvind Raman. From its inception, the producers of Bollywood Bash have maintained their goal of building a unique Austin event that entertains while raising awareness about SAHELI. By all accounts, the goal was achieved again.
Ugadi, the New Year day for the Hindus between the rivers Godavari and Kaveri, was commemorated by the Teluga Cultural Association of Austin with song and dance performances on April 21 at C.D. Fulkes Middle School. As per the Lunar or Hindu calendar, yugadi corresponds to the first day of the first half of the Chaitra month, Chaitra Shudhdha Padyami (Chaitra Sudda Prathami), which usually comes in March or April months of the regular Gregorian calendar. The telugu community observes the day by preparing Ugadi Pachadi. The South Indian calendar follows the procedure of Salivahana era (Salivahana Saka), and counts its years starting from the year 78 AD of the Gregorian calendar. Hence the year 2000 AD marks the year 1922 of the Salivahana Saka.
Some 400 people attended the 9th annual Bollywood Bash at the Scoot Inn on April 14, raising $3,500 for SAHELI for Asian Families, a non-profit that provides assistance to Asian and other immigrant families dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking. The all-out dance party featured DJ Dan Singh at the turntable, mixing beats from India and around the world for an animated crowd which filled the floor. Selina Keilani, Erin Negron, and Monica Malhotra, the Flying
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