Melodious songs, innovative tabla music, synchronized dancing, and creative fashion presentations are just a few elements from Desi Dhamaka 2016, which was held on December 4th at Worcester Technical High School.

Sangya Padhi dreamed of this event for several months and brought it to life through an evening of quality entertainment for New England audiences. In addition to being fun-filled, the show also contributed to a great cause. Proceeds went to Ekal Vidyalaya, an organization that aims to bring education to children in the villages of India.

Coordinators worked tirelessly to make this event memorable for participants and spectators alike. Many diverse performers came together, as well as talented designers of Western and Indian fashion shows. In the midst of all of the excitement, Ekal New England President, Mrs. Parveen Minocha, delivered a touching speech about the organization. For the past 25 years, Ekal has undertaken to run one-teacher schools and has reached 54,000 villages. Mrs. Minocha said, “At the heart of it is basic education; that’s where we start.” She reminded us of our privileges and how we can give back to our community in India. “Bring this dream come true for many kids in rural India.”

The event began with Ganesh Vandana “Gajaananaa”, a prayer to Lord Ganesha. The dancers sought the blessings of the Lord through the classical art form of Odissi. The piece was choreographed by Mrs. Jayashree Mohapatra, who started her career early on and blossomed into an accomplished prodigy in Odissi.

There were several acts by versatile musicians. Sudha Subbaraman, trained in Carnatic and Hindustani vocals, sang beautiful renditions of Moh Moh Ke Dhaage and Abhi Na Jaao Chhodkar. Subbaraman has also been taking Dhrupad lessons from Gundecha Brothers school and studying voicework and Vocal yoga techniques from a professional voice coach. Spandan Rath, a high school senior from West Hartford, CT, is a skilled tabla player and percussionist. He wowed the audience with a fusion of Indian and Western beats.

The dazzling designs in the Western and Indian fashion shows left the audience cheering. The choreography and model training for the Western show was done by Shyla Abbimutt. Shyla works full time as IT Project Manager and modeling has been her passion since childhood; she does modeling and works as part time at Voge Fashion Runway Boston.

The Ethnic Fashion Show established a mood of celebration to represent the Festivals of India, which brings people closer together despite diversified cultures and traditions. Gorgeous ladies wore sarees and dresses designed by Kalpana Panigrahi, who started making her own dresses at the age of twelve. Her custom designs, “SUHANA”, allow women to feel more beautiful by reflecting their individual personalities.

As cliche as it sounds, “dhamaka” dance performances set the stage on fire. With a dance choreographed by Sangya Padhi, the “Bollywood Girlz”, expressed their passion for dance.

Ashya Singh performed an emotional Bharatanatyam piece Jatayu Moksha, choreographed by her Guru Smt. Ranjani Saigal, It is a composition of Saint Tulsidasa. In this piece, verses from Ramcharitra Manas were woven together to tell the story of killing of Maricha, Sita Haran, war between Ravana and Jatayu. The audience enjoyed other dances including the marathi folk dance, Bollywood medley by Swamy family. The finale piece ‘Saathiya maahiya barsa de’ by Sangya and Anindita was the most befitting climax.

Sangya Padhi closed by thanking her team of volunteers and supporters including:

Meena Mehta, Mohasweta Barik, Soumya Mohanty, Suchilagna Panigrahi, Rupali Das, Reema Mohanty, Itishree Mishra, Sradha Patnaik, Anindita Nanda,Sudha Subbaraman, Jayashree Kar Mohaptra, Parveen Minocha, Anantha Kondalraj (for pictures), Gauri Chandna of Foundations TV (media partner)

After attending the show, I feel grateful to witness such talent. Hard work truly pays off and it was a delight to listen to music, watch dances, cheer for the models, and most importantly - raise funds for a great cause. Congrats Sangya Padhi and team for a great event. I look forward to next year’s event!

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