The Boston Chapter of the Network of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP-Boston) organized a South Asian dance and comedy drama "Bend it Like Auntie" on October 1st at the Brookline High School auditorium, as part of an effort to promote South Asian arts and cultural awareness in the community. The first ever play by NetSAP had approximately 300 people in attendance and was a huge success.
 
The play was written and produced by Usha Govindarajulu, the Theatrics Chair at NetSAP. Director John Cotter made his debut and the lead roles were played by Swetha Madhavarapu (Auntie/Wife) and Deepankar Bodapati (Husband).

The play is an Indian-American comedy centered on the main female character, an "Auntie" who wants to dance bhangra again but must first overcome the barriers set forth by her own family. The mother accompanies her daughter to bhangra lessons and remembers her old days. The daughter's coach has an idea of starting an auntie bhangra team after seeing her mom perform bhangra very skillfully at a wedding party. The auntie is convinced into forming her own bhangra team with other women her own age, all striving to perform like their own children.

The mother hides her participation in the team from her husband which gets her into trouble in a comedic way. Her husband faces a new challenge of accepting his wife's dancing passion. The final act of the play ends with a Bhangra competition in which the mother and the daughter teams both participate. Boston Bhangra, the popular bhangra club from Boston, also performed in the play as a competing team.

Other cast and crew involved in the play are Chanchal Gupta (Production assistant), Sheila Rajan (Stage manager), Bunty (Coach), Pallavi (Daughter), Prashanth Cherukuri (Son), Namrata Kaur, Dhara Amin, Aradhana Kumar, Charu Kalluri (All Aunties),  Rajat Chopra and Anil Rachakonda (husbands’ friends), Riz Dhandina (Choreographer/dancer), Dominic Kallas, Shobhit Chugh, Sonit Seth, and Aarti Sood (Stage hands), Rohit Padgaonkar (public relations), Tina Shah, Nina Rajpurohit, Maulik Shah, Tony Eng (Dancers). The entire cast and crew volunteered for the play. Part of proceeds from the play will be donated towards the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina.

"After having written this play, I was delighted to see the figures, actions, and scenes come alive on stage.  The core elements of comedy and dance were combined beautifully by this production team.  I truly appreciate NetSAP-Boston giving me this opportunity to produce this playand enjoy working with them.” said Usha Govindarajulu, Theatrics Chair of NetSAP.

Kas Sharma, President of NetSAP-Boston remarked “We have had quite a few big events and the play was our biggest draw. The cast and crew worked hard for 4 months to make this happen. The play provided an opportunity for professionals to showcase their theatric talents”.

"’Bend it Like Auntie’ is just a start for NetSAP-Boston. We plan to make plays an annual feature and encourage many more South Asians to join, volunteer for NetSAP, and participate in theatrics. There are also other tracks at NetSAP such as professional, social and community service that members can get involved in.” added Tushneem Dharmagadda, Secretary of NetSAP.

The Vedanta seminar on self-management for professional excellence coming up on Oct 20th is the next big professional event being organized by NetSAP and the Indian Business Club at MIT. NetSAP is currently running a membership drive for 2006. Anyone interested in joining NetSAP-Boston and participating in the upcoming events may find more information at www.netsapboston.org.

About NetSAP-Boston

Founded in 1995, the Network of South Asian Professionals of Boston (NetSAP-Boston) is a professional, 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the professional, cultural and civic needs of the South Asian community in the Greater Boston area. We seek to unite South Asian professionals, nurture leadership, and build partnerships in the New England area through professional programs, networking events, and community service efforts. NetSAP-Boston is part of NetIP-NA, The Network of Indian Professionals, North America. For more information on events, membership and other initiatives, visit www.netsapboston.org. To learn more about NetIP North America and other chapters in other cities, visit www.netip.org.

|