Rhode Islanders joyfully celebrated India’s 58th year of independence during a fun-filled cultural event held July 30th in downtown Providence. “We were overwhelmed at the turnout, and not just from the Indian-American community,” said Dr. Surendra Sharma, the India Association’s president. He estimates that between 500-1000 people attended all or part of the two events.

The first event, from 4-6:15 pm at the Station Park had the ambience of a country fair. One tent held a health fair with free health screenings for diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol, while other tents offered Indian foods, arts and crafts, and jewelry for sale. The final tent enclosed a stage, and featured a diverse cultural program including live sitar and tabla performances by Chris Pereji and Josh Feinberg, classical and folk dances and a comedy skit. The audience swayed to the Bhangra and Garba dances, especially the folk dances adapted from recent Bollywood blockbusters The dances were choreographed by Prafulla Vellury and Sheetal Patel. The skit, “Customer Service”, written by Karthik Naram, drew laughter from its verbal riffing of Indian and American foibles.

After a short break, the evening program in Waterplace Park began with the hoisting of the Indian and American flags, and the singing of the Indian and American national anthems. Short speeches by the Indian Consul General of New York, Pramathesh Rath, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, and U.S. Congressman James Langevin followed. The dignitaries made note of the changed circumstances in the India-America relationship: India was no longer a regional power, but one taking its rightful place on the global stage.

Next followed the cultural program, which began with the Shiv Tandavum, choregraphed by Prafulla Vellury. Next up: a folk dance by the Saminaryan Troupe, followed by a solo Kathak dance by Preeti Soni, a professional dancer visiting from India. A repeat of Nimbooda, a folk dance from the afternoon’s program was next, before the program changed gears with ‘Festivals of India’ a mixed narration and dance number that illustrated the colors, fashions and festivals of India. “Americans are fascinated with Indian festivals”, explained Dr. Ravi Chander, who choreographed the piece with his wife, Dr. Parul Chander. “We chose festivals representing the religious diversity of India and highlighted some of the distinct regional festivals of India.” The performance, by over twenty boys and girls certainly captured the joie de vivre of Indian festivals. The cultural program finished with two rousing dances: Ghanan Ghanan, from Langaan and a bhangra folk dance.

The performance of the headlining band, Karyshma, started at about 8:30 pm. Karyshma, noting the mixed Indian and American audience, played a wide-ranging set, melding Indian and English ghazals with its trademark blend of rock, jazz, and Indian-inflected music. “Everyone kept telling me that this was the best program our community has ever put on”, said Ajay Pande. As evening flowed into night, the crowd grew: they didn’t need to know the history to enjoy the vibe. 

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