An evening filled with gala joy and festivity, 8700 miles away from home, hard to believe its celebration of Sankranthi with a congregation of 1000+ Kannadigas in North California. The scene was at Sunnyvale Hindu temple on Saturday, February 02, 2008.
Kannada Koota of North California organized a grand evening of celebration and welcomed the New Year events with Sankranthi Celebrations
The venue entrance was marked by a warm welcome. The KKNC marketing team was working with all the engines in full steam, registering new members, greeting existing members and distributing food coupons for all the guests. It was interesting to see the young members (not aged more than 12) of KKNC speaking in a mix of Kannada, English and checking to see if the guests had RSVP'ed or not. This spoke about the amount of organization, dedication, interest by young members and planning that went into this event.
The creativity team outdid themselves with cultural deco at the entrance, a miniature bullock cart, with pongal baking in a pot, a bullock, a hut and a lamp standing amidst the flower petal decoration. The deco was a clear depiction of village side harvest season. The KKNC has made sure it gives a sneak peek of how the homeland looks to all the young Kannadigas who haven't seen much of their land of ethnic origin. This could be aptly termed as cultural literacy.
The hall had outlets promoting various institutions
1. Sandhya Deepa: Raising funds for old aged women by selling the home made sweets and snack items.
2. OSAAT-A non-profit organization dedicated to helping needy schools in India.
3. Sankara Eye Foundation raising fund through a promotional Event.
4. Blood drive promoted by VSNA and KKNC.
The entrance to the main stage was marked by a welcome through Panner Daani spray (perfumed water sprinkle welcome) and a fistful of Ellu Bella (a mixture of sesame and jaggery), which came all the way from India.
The evening's cultural extravaganza began with a "Snehitare nimge swaagatha", by the MC 's Raghu and Bhagya. The MC attire being completely ethnic filled the evening with more cultural glamour.
An invocation of Lord Ganesha by young Akshay Aravind set the course of the evening. A prayer to the mother earth from all the committee members of 2008 followed the invocation.
A taste of koravanji (fortune-teller) dance was doled out by the team of 3 girls and choreography by Aruna Acharya. The costumes, makeup were authentic and the dance did make the audience's feet tap.
There were meaningful announcements by the youth committee on the book exchange program hosted by them; this was for the benefits of under privileged children. Such promotions of social conscience, responsibility among adults and children showed the value of this gathering.
The delightful chit chat and one liners from MC's sped the evening away and the audience were treated to Kolata(ethnic dance by tapping small sticks by dancers) choreographed by Shobalatha Pattanashetty. The choreography and coordination of the Kolata team did receiver a great round of applause from the cheerful audience.
Introduction to new talent put Archana Rajesh (relatively new entry to bay area) on the stage to perform a karaoke song "Bhaanallu neene" and a few other cinema songs.
Sankranthi Kichhu an enactment of celebration of the suggi in villages and cows jumping on fire was a bonanza. The wild looking, self-immolating whip lasher was an astounding performance. Kids dressed as cows and ladies carrying the god and a running educational commentary marked the end of the beautiful and visually pleasing cultural exhibit.
Raghu's one-liners and Bhagya's cheerful conversation peppered the evening with a few laughs.
The President of KKNC Mr. Bhavani Kumar introduced the various committees of KKNC 2008. The activities of the committees were explained to the audience.
Sri Ramachandra Guruji proceeded with a demonstration of Mind over body and power of subconscious mind.
The show stealers of the entire evening did make a late entry, but they did come in the most dashing form. Yes we are talking about "Swar Jammers" the band of young kannadigas. Dressed in complete back and shiny silver overalls, the youngsters dished out the ever-famous "Santhoshakke" and few other cinema delights of yester years. The electric guitars, superb drumming, playful keyboard and a soulful voice were the talk of town. Needless to say, these young entertainers were the cynosure of audience that evening.
Bharatanatya by Samidha Satyam and her elegant performance of dance on a small metal plate proved the mettle of this dancer.
Tillana by Mohan,Krithika and Deeksha ended the day's first half of performances.
Another memorable part of the evening was the presence of Indian Cricket legend, world famous googly spinner, Mr. B.S. Chandrashekhar! The crowd was thrilled at this unique opportunity to meet the great and very humble man in person. KKNC felicitated 'Chandru' with a plaque. The audience poured out their admiration in the form of gifts honoring Chandru. The back-stage was instantly converted into a portrait studio with throngs of fans and admirers longing for photo-ops with the legendary Chandu!!
KKNC adopted a new approach of felicitating each and every performers of the night. Past KKNC presidents and committee members handled this felicitation.
The dinner was an elaborate and organized affair. The guests were given a choice of choosing Pulao or Bisibelebath for main course. The sweets, chapattis and curry did add to the flavor for the evening. People who were not in the mood for a formal dinner could avail the facility of different kinds of fresh and hot Dosa's and Pizza's by purchasing a coupon in the nearby counters.
The backstage was buzzing with activity and hurried voices of members. The logistics' and planning for this event was fantabulous.
Jokumara Swamy, well-awaited folk drama, directed by Vallisha Shastry was the grand finale of this beautiful evening. This huge drama team, all the way from Southern California, did an excellent job and delivered a splendid performance.
The most interesting fact noticed was the presence of majority of audience till the end of the day. The whole event spoke volumes of people who took time to do all these things, bring a few smiles to the people who are away from their homeland and cement the bridge between them and their home. Kudos to these dedicated Kannadigas!!!
Adieu to the audience by the MC's and thanksgiving by KKNC brought an end to a wonderful cultural experience.
The end of this successful, glitzy evening has paved way to more new beginnings of these enthusiastic Kannadigas of North California.
Pictures of this grand Sankranthi 2008 event can be found on KKNC website, at http://www.kknc.org/?album=_album/2008/sankranthi/
About KKNC organization: Kannada Koota of Northern California (KKNC), USA was founded in 1973. Located in San Jose/San Francisco bay area, KKNC is run entirely by volunteers. KKNC is approved by the U.S. Federal Government as a Registered Non-Profit, Charitable Institution, under IRS regulation 501(C)(3). Your membership contribution to KKNC may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for eligibility, click here [pdf, 8 pages, 413 KB] to access the Federal approval letter. KKNC's Federal Tax ID is 94-2801002.
KKNC's mission is to strengthen the Kannada community (people of Karnataka, India origin) living in Northern California, by providing a forum to pursue religious, literary, cultural, educational, community development and charity/service activities. It is a voluntary organization primarily run by donations and memberships from interested members of the general public. More details of KKNC organization are available at www.kknc.org
