– NEW YORK
The annual Dushahra Festival celebrations in New York and New Jersey, which is organized by Indo-American Festivals Inc., was ceremonially kicked off Aug. 28 at the Indian Consulate in New York with Deputy Consul General Manoj Kumar Mohapatra inaugurating the event.
The evening began with the singing of the National anthems of India and the United States followed by the lighting of the auspicious lamp, and welcoming remarks by the president of IAF, Raj Mittal, and its chairperson Chanchal Gupta, and a keynote address by Mohapatra.
The evening saw Ganesh Pushpanjali, classical dance, poetry recitals and ‘art of Rabindranath Tagore’ through dance, followed by a short video film introducing the history of IAF and glimpses of past Dushahra festivals. The cultural program consisting of Indian dance performances included: semi-classical performances presented by Nrityalina Center for Performing Arts, New Jersey; a Bharatnayam recital by Priyanka Chowdhury; Indian semi-classical dance by Julia Kulakova. Glimpses of the theatrical act of Ram Leela were presented by Navrang Dance Academy, New Jersey.
The Dushahra festival celebrations began in 1999, when late Mangal Gupta, founder of IAF, realized that the Indian-American community felt that because of a deep cultural gap the young generation were distanced from the rich culture and heritage of India. It was his dream to bring today’s generation of Indian-American closer to their roots by educating them about Indian culture through the enactment of great Indian epic Ramayana and inculcate the same virtues and values in their lives.
The New York festival will be held Sept. 13 2015 at the South Street Seaport while the New Jersey festival will take place Oct. 3 at Lake Papaianni Park, Edison, New Jersey.
The highlights of the festival are the vibrant cultural performances, a dazzling Ram Lila theatrical act, depicting the life of Lord Rama showing the victory of good over the evil Demon King Ravan, followed by burning of large effigies of the Demon King, and spectacular fireworks.
A new major attraction this year would be Flying Hanumanji. The festival will also include various booths selling Indian arts, crafts, clothing and delicious Indian food. A medical camp will also be available for free health screening. A special play area for children will include various rides.
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