It was a perfect day for a celebration. Good weather, great organization and a touch of glamour added to the festivity of the Telugu Association of Greater Boston who celebrated TaaraNa Naama Samvatsara Ugadi Utsavalu on May 8th at the Cyril D. Locke Middle School in Billerica, Boston.

A large crowd of TAGB members and non members of the Indian American community attended the event. Students of Shishu Bharati sang beautiful songs in Telugu as an invocation for the evening. Students of Ranjani Saigal and Neena Gulati performed Bharatanatyam dances. Resplendent in a silver jacket and black pants Uttam, gyrated almost Hrithik Roshan style with the show stopping performance to the song ‘Girlfriend Kaavali’ from the movie ‘Boys’. Others who took part were Pranati Kaki, Ramya Ghantasala. Deepthi Kanuparthi did a modern version of Sodamma, complete with laptop and cell phone and interspersed her humorous dialogues with current themes like outsourcing etc.

Aarti Agarwal, the Tollywood sensation was surrounded with eager fans who wanted her autograph and snapshots with her. As she went of stage, she was heaped with questions from the audience ranging from her interest in films and her future plans. She answered everyone graciously and said that she was delighted to see such a large gathering of the Indian American community and the community’s involvement in cultural activities.

Ranjan Vadlapatla, President TAGB, and a long time member, who had worked tirelessly to bring the best of programs to the community in his two year term, outlined the achievements during his tenure which included visits from prominent political personalities from India and inviting outstanding artists to give quality Telugu cultural programs in Boston.

Sai Rani Ravi, daughter of Hanumara Satyanarayana and H.V. Narasamamba was also honored with a community achievement award for her tremendous contributions to the community. Subbu Kota, of the Boston Group outlined her family’s involvement with his own in Vijayawada and termed her as an active volunteer for various political, social, cultural and spiritual events in New England. She has also been involved in medical organizations like AAPI and IMANE and has been the past President and advisor of TAGB for many years.

The Festival is organized every year by the Telugu Association of Greater Boston and showcases the cultural talents of the Telugu community.

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