"East Meets West” an outdoor, free, cultural event, hosted by Milan Cultural Association, Inc. and Essence of India on Saturday, 14th of September at NARA Park, Acton, MA, from 2 pm-6.00 pm. The event took place in collaboration with various cultural organizations from India, Peru, Columbia, and Japan and the artists presented a multicultural experience to the audiences with their traditional, classical, and regional performances of music and dances in their gorgeous traditional costumes. Several booths of traditional art and craft, clothing, and food represented the culture and heritage of the world.

The event “East Meets West” was created for various countries of the world to interact with the mainstream America by highlighting and celebrating their rich traditional art and culture and provide them an opportunity to explore the similarities, differences, and uniqueness of the cultures through a series of ethos of the participating countries. The aim of this event was to provide an opportunity to build constructive bridges, friendly relationships, mutual understanding, and respect and trust for each other which in turn brings in peace, harmony, and peaceful co-existence. 
 

A humble homage/Shraddhanjali was offered to Arun Jaitley Ji, Hon'ble Member of Parliament & former Finance Minister of Government of India, who passed away on Aug 24, 2019. He was remembered as one of the finest politicians in the country, a great human being and an excellent orator. The main program started with the lighting of lamps by Subu Kota, Byung Guk Kim (Faculty, University of Massachusetts), Kiran Nath, Abhaya Asthana, Jaya Asthana, Kaushik Patel, Seema Kapoor, Abhishek Singh, Deepak Rathor, and Supreeth and presenting of a vibrant dance piece, “ASHPushpanjali” a Bharatanatyam repertoire as an offering of flowers to the stage that the dancers perform on by ASHWARIA group.

Young girls from Sanjana Pulaparthi Group presented a Bollywood dance with full energy and thrill. An award was presented to Anirudha Chandramouleeswaran, a 9 year old 4^th grader for his academic excellence by Mohini Bhutani and Kaushik Patel. Rajesh Pai’s young students presented an amazing table piece. A musical band, PERU SOL DEL SOL presented an upbeat percussion to the mellow sounds of the traditional pan flutes and other wind instruments. Noori (Shruti Pradeep) showcased a Kuchipudi dance item "Alokaye Shree Bala Krishnam” on Baby Krishna’s childhood. Another wonderful piece on the invocation to Lord Shiva, Rudrashtakam was demonstrated by Anagha Gogate in a Kathak dance style. Sonia Sebastian illustrated praising of Lord Krishna through her dance that combined both Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi styles. Ballet Folklorico Colombiano Bajucol, a non-profit organization presented its brilliant Colombian Salsa dance and another beautiful folk dance to the audiences to enjoy as well. Suchilagna Panigrahi, a well-known performer, choreographer and a teacher of Odissi dance from Connecticut presented a mesmerizing performance. A different non-profit Cultural Association of Peru named Pumawari Tusuy showcased lovely traditional dances, Caporales from the region Puno and Carnaval Marqueno from the region Junin. An amazing Columbian dance – Inspiracion was presented by Bajucol, a non-profit organization. Asha and Alok Shetty showcased their brilliant performances called, Thillana, a pure dance piece celebrating the unity of Shiva-Shakti, and Shamvho Nattanam which depicted the power, beauty, and grace of lord Shiva. Both dances were choreography by Kalaimamani Rama Vaidyanathan.

Students from Mona's Dance Academy presented a Kathak dance piece on Krishna Raas Lila. Riya Singh was recognized with RISE Award for her contribution to sports by the Rajput Association of North America (RANA). She is ranked No 1 in New England for tennis. Sweta and her team presented an excellent Bhangra dance to the audiences. A gifted family from Peru showed their talents by playing music, dancing, and singing, “The Huayno Valicha” emblematic Peruvian song, Festejo “Cantando te Conocí” with a very happy Afro-Peruvian music, and Marinera, a coastal dance. Michiko Kurata performed a traditional Japanese dance with her graceful moves and also conducted a short workshop of Japanese Ancestral Worship dance to all the audiences.

In the closing remarks, Mr. Suresh Sharma Ji from Milan and Seem Kapoor Ji from Essence of India thanked all the Co-sponsors and supporters of the program namely Oversees Friends of BJP - Boston Chapter, Boston Sargam, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA),  Rajput Association of North America. He thanked all the art, jewelry, clothing, and food vendors for their active participation, and bringing attraction and delicious food to the hungry audiences by Masala Bay. He also thanked all the MCs namely Jyoti Singh, Geethanjali Vermani, and Gopika for their diligent work and all the dedicated volunteers for their hard work. He appreciated greatly the audience’s enthusiasm and their active participation.

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