UK
Community celebrates forthcoming Navratri
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This year's Anand Mela, organised by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar for the third time, saw thousands of people visit Kingsbury Primary school, enjoy shopping for the forthcoming Navratri and Diwali festivals later this month and enjoy their favourite music and Indian food and drinks. The 'Anand Mela' promises to display diverse colours of Indian culture especially Gujarat by bringing people together in a festive ambience where everyone can enjoy food, music, dance etc. The mela was divided into stall zones for food & drink, education and entertainment,
www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 5th October 2013
Health & Medical, Travel & Tourism, Property & Investment, Banking & Finance, Fashion & Wedding and many more. Visitors had the opportunity to indulge in endless fun, do some shopping, enjoy the day's entertainment, eat some tasty food, meet near and dear ones or dance to one's favourite songsold and new. The entertainment over 2 days included classical and old film songs by Maya Deepak and Vinod Patel, stand up comedies by Sudha Bhatt and Bhanubhai Pandya, Bhajans by Shivali, Bollywood songs by Navin Kundra, Hemina Shah, Avina Shah and Kishan Amin. Other
Manorma
Manorma is a performing artist (Actress, Singer/Song writer & Indian classical Kathak dancer) living in London UK. She comes from a very artistic family background and has had the biggest inspirations from there. She has had a variety of training experiences and opportunities in the arts such as: A Bachelors degree (BMus) in Indian classical Music (vocal) from Trinity College of Music, she has trained in Kathak Dance and has learnt Ballet as part of her education in School from the age of five years old. She touched upon Western Classical & Jazz music and also loves learning World folk music. Manorma had her Acting training from LAMDA and City of Westminster College.
Kishan Amin
Debut single ‘Kabhi Na Jaana’, Kishan’s soulful vocals create the perfect blend in this engaging cover enriched with various live instruments. His debut song releases just around the corner, Kishan is already generating a lot of interest both in the UK and across India and is tipped to be the next big Bollywood artist emerging from the UK. Backed with intense training in Hindustani Classical Music from a young age, he has attained the versatility to sing in many different styles and genres, be it Sufi, devotional or Bollywood. Now as the latest member of international entertainment group Eastern Illusion, Kishan prepares to take the Asian music industry by storm in 2013 and continue to connect with a wide range of audiences with his charming character and of course exquisite voice.
Panchamukhee
Panchamukhee (a Sanskrit word literally meaning ‘five faced’, a metaphorical representation of multiple dimensions or facets of life) is a non-profit association that was founded in London in 2006 by a group of like minded enthusiasts. The key objectives of Panchamukhee are to promote the arts and cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent. The Annand Mela performance portrayed a few of those myths and mythologies surrounding the Durga Puja or Vijaya Dashami festival which is celebrated on the 10th day of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashvin. They danced to Shiva, Lakshmi and Durga.
Maya Deepak
Maya is a versatile light vocal artiste devoted to music, a renowned name among the musical circles of Gujarat. Hailing from an educated and cultured family of kadi in Mehsana District of Gujarat, Maya’s love for music was nurtured by the family. At an early age of 8 years she began her training in Hindustani Classical Vocal accomplishing her graduation (Sangit Visharad) and Bachelor of Education (Sangit Visharad and Bachelor of Education (Sangit Visharad) in Music in 1984 topping the merit list in Gujarat. Maya is an auditioned artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan since 1987.
Avina Shah
British born Hindi singer Avina Shah has been making headlines in the UK Asian Music scene since the release of her charity debut single ‘Tere Bina’, which supported the fight against domestic violence and touched many hearts. Often described as a fresh multi-talented artist who captivates the crowd with her infectious stage presence, Avina is certain to have the crowd up on their feet with her up-beat single “Dil Deewana” and many other popular Bollywood tracks. Avina’s vocals cater for a vast range of audiences, including listeners of Bollywood, Pop / RnB music, as well as Punjabi and Gujarati songs. She has worked as an independent artist recording albums, for commercial as well as promotional purposes. To support her talent, Avina has also taken intense voice culture and classical vocal training in India. Her videos have created great excitement across the media, garnering over 1 million views online and thousands of fans worldwide. As a professional singer, Avina
performances included bollywood dance and workshop by Archana Kumar Academy (AK Academy of Dance - Bollywood dance), Odissi performance by Urbi Basu's students from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Patriotic dance by Anoopam Mission, Bollywood dance by Honey Kalaria's students, Mahishashur Mardini by Panchamukhee organisation, Kathak recital by Manorma and Bollywood dance by Federation of Patidar Association. Local Councillors, community leaders and business tycoons were present in the morning of 28th September to interact with the guests, stall holders and light
diyas during the inauguration ceremony. The fund raised through ticket sales and raffle was donated to our nominated charity for the mela- Healing Little Hearts, that helps poor children with fund for heart operations in India. Healing Little Hearts (HLH) was launched in 2007 with the primary objective of treating children with heart defects in India. HLH sends Specialist medical teams of doctors and nurses, every 4 to 6 weeks to Mumbai, India to perform lifesaving operations for children who cannot afford treatment or die whilst on a waiting list. Their mission is to give as many chil-
PERFORMERS AT ANAND MELA
has performed in various locations within the US, Canada, Europe, Africa and Middle East. With her songs regularly airing on leading Asian Radio stations and TV Channels both within the UK and internationally, Avina’s ‘angelic vocals’ and songs have received incredible support from the public, promising a bright future as the young star sets to release her next few singles in 2013.
Archana Kumar
AK Bollywood Dance is a fresh dynamic dance group, bringing dance to you, with an impact. They specialise in Bollywood dance and fuse it with a variety of other forms such as classical, traditional, modern contemporary and hip hop. They are based at Northwick Park Play Golf, where their upbeat and exhilarating dance sessions run on a weekly basis, perfect for the striving beginners to the advanced professional dancers. Their Anand Mela performance included performers Karishma Patel, Reeya Patel, Payal Punja, Jinisha Haria, Nishma Unalkut, Meera Maru, Keya Maru, Rajkumar Patel, Archana Kumar, Aaryan Kumar and Tia Kila. They believe in being a community more than a business. Their students are their friends and teaching and choreography has become more of a passion and hobby than a job. Teenage classes run every Saturday 10-11, kids classes run every Saturday 11-12, ladies classes every Saturday, free family brent classes run every Wed 1.30-2.30 (subject to having a child under 5 and living in Brent).
Hemina Shah
Hemina is a talented singer and performing artist originally from the UK, specialising in a range of different styles of Indian music including Hindi Bollywood, Hindi pop remixes, Bhangra, Garba, Fusion etc. Inspired by many top Bollywood singers and artists, such as Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, her music and voice caters for people of all ages and backgrounds. Some of her achievements throughout her music career include: Singing for a CocaCola television music advertisement, which has been playing in all Spanish speaking countries across the world.
Honey Kalaria's Dance Academy
Honey Kalaria and Honey’s Dance Academy performed at the Anand Mela and gave the audience a special entertainment show incorporating a range of different dance styles presented by Honeys Dance Academy which included Indian classical, Hip Hop, Gharba, Contemporary and even included an upcoming rap artist, SJ who performed live. Honey Kalaria, founder of Honeys Dance Academy, inspired the audience to appreciate 100 years of cinema by taking them down memory lane by sharing interesting information about the film industry ranging from dance style, music directors, legendary screen actors and its links with Hollywood. Honey Kalaria, said, “The audience really appreciated the show, and were thrilled to see students as young as 6 years to professional dancers of all cultural backgrounds, showcase their talent.” Honey Kalaria, a Dancer, choreographer and known more popularly as Bollywood Ambassador to the UK, has recently been involved in choreographing Bollywood Carmen for BBC3, staging a Bollywood Musical “17 Days aur Bollywood Spice” and conducting Masterclass workshops at venues such as The South Bank Centre. Following on from the Anand Mela success, Honey’s Dance Academy has now joined forces with Asian Voice and Gujara Samachar to present a 2 hour Raas Gharba and Dandiya fun and interactive workshop for all ages, where Honey Kalaria and her trainers will teach you latest Gharba and Dandiya moves step by step.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s purpose is to preserve for posterity the tradition of Indian art and culture. The Bhavan was founded in Mumbai, India in 1938 and there
dren as possible the chance of life. The medical teams are made up of dedicated doctors and nurses from the UK, Europe and Australia who give up their own time to help these desperately ill children. Since 2009 HLH has adopted a base in the Holy Family Hospital, Bandra and has begun a programme to train the local teams to be able to care for these children. The programme to date has trained over 60 local intensive care and operating theatre nurses. To date HLH has operated on over 300 children with a success rate of 94%
are more than a 100 branches of the Bhavan in India. The Bhavan provides courses in music, dance, languages, drama, art and archaeology and yoga. Some nine hundred students attend our courses during the year. Courses are taught at different leverls – open, diploma (5 years) and master. Individual training is available in order to advance students to the highest levels.
Bhanubhai Pandya Anoopam Mission
Bhanubhai Pandya is a well-known stand up comedian Anoopam Mission UK coordinates the organizations activities in the UK, Europe amd Africa and is located just west of the city of London. They hold Gujarati classes, Containers for Peace, Yoga Classes, Support of Charitable Causes and hold summer youth Camps. At the Anand Mela, they performed a special 'desh bhakti geet' or patriotic dance for He Matrubhumi Bhara with their gurus blessings. The performers were Aashka Ahvaryu, Ruta Bhabsar, Deniesha Dhokia, Shivani Kotecha and choreographer was Meghna Adhvaryu.
Vinod Patel
Vinod is a Gujarati classical singer who studied in Swaminarayan Gurukul, Gujarat. He had training of Music under the tutelage of eminent singer Shree Babubhai Andhariya of Kirana Gharana, rajko. He performs light and devotional music in Gujarati and Hindu.
Sudha Bhatt
Sudha Bhatt is a standup comedian and she is from Nairobi, and now lives in Oxford
Shivali
Shivali was born and brought up in the City of London where despite having a western upbringing she was familiar with shlokas and mantras at the tender age of 3. At the age of 22 Shivali was signed by record label Sony Music BMG and was commended for being innovative in creating a niche market of modern contemporary bhajans. Shivali began actively involved in music with her producer Arjun Coomaraswamy at the age of 15. Both together created what would then become “The Bhajan Project” which is an array of devotional songs coupled with a fresh modern sound compromising of guitar, cello, tabla, western drum kit, strings and sitar. Shivali deeply desired to bring bhajans to the fore front of society and achieved this by modernizing them, however retaining their soulful nature. The Bhajan Project was nominated for two Global Indian Music awards. Shivali then went onto release Urban Temple by Eros Music in 2012, just two years after the Bhajan Project. Shivali and Arjun, the dynamic duo, truly challenged themselves with this album by pushing the boundaries and experimenting with sound.
Meera's Dance Academy
Meera Salat is a professional dancer who has been dancing for 16 years. She set up Meera's Performing Arts two and a half years ago and teaches Bollywood, Kathak and does Bollywood workouts as well. Her dance group have performed at numerous shows including a show for freedom fighters in India at the Watford Colleseum, a “Saavan” which was a student showcase of different types of rain through Kathak and Bo`llywood dance as well as performing at the Shreya Ghosal concert in May 2013.
Encee Arts
Encee Arts is an organisation aimed at making arts accessible to every individual. Encee Arts has been committed to promoting the arts since 1976, providing top quality performing arts and classes to the community in a newly furbished purpose-built facility. Through arts they aim to develop creative talent, build self-esteem and inspire confidence. They hold classes in Bollywood, Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Garba. The choreographer for Sunday's performance was Binal Trivedy and performers were: Freya trivedy, Shreena Mehta and Parina Naik.