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| Lokvani Talks To Prakash Reddy, President TAGB |
Nirmala Garimella
09/27/2010
This year is TAGB’s silver Jubilee celebrations on Oct 30th. Going back 25years, can you tell us how it all started?
Telugu loving people in Boston area used to meet under the name GRANDHARAMAM in 1960s. The group started growing gradually and approximately in 1982 Telugu Association of Greater Boston (TAGB) was formed and the organization was registered with Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1984.
Can you share a human interest story of TAGB’s growth?
Since its formation TAGB has been regularly organizing cultural and literary programs to cater to the needs of Telugites in Boston area. Over a period of time, the organization started to extend its wings into social and community services to help people in need in India and sometimes to the local communities.
How is the organization commemorating the event?
This is the day that most of the Telugu loving people in Boston area are looking for. The planning for the event began almost 8 months ago and special committees consisting of experienced and youth members were formed to focus in the areas of (but not limited to )cultural, literary, and social service including Charity areas. As it is an event first of its kind, the special committees were formed with broader representation from all corners of Greater Boston area viz. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. This will be a full day event local and external performances. With an intention to make this entertainment affordable to all the families the ticket prices were kept very reasonable.
What are the plans for TAGB in your tenure?
Moving forward in the direction of working with all the community members and run the organization with greater transparency. Extend the organization size by increasing the membership base.
Give us some facts of TAGB membership, reach, goals
Currently TAGB is having 221 Life Members; 253 Regular Members & 200+ Non-Members on record (some of them were moved out of Boston).. Our immediate goal is to encourage all non-members to become our Members, and invite the new generation to join into our organization.
What are some of its highlights?
Ours is one of the few organizations with 25 years of history. During these 25 years, we have organized several top quality programs for our community.
The core principle of TAGB is to promote Telugu language and culture. Therefore, almost, all of our activities are dedicated to perform such activity. Most of the TAGB events encourage members and the children of Telugu origin, to participate/perform/compete in cultural/language competitions like Indian classical dances, singing and other language based programs. Thus by, we promote and educate Telugu language and culture all along. In addition to its own efforts, TAGB continuously collaborates with other Indian non-profit organizations to promote Telugu language and culture.
TAGB often invites/hosts/recognizes Indian scholars such as poets, writers, musicians, and classical artists. Thus we provide an opportunity to the local Telugu people to interact/learn/listen/experience such talent from the visiting scholars. TAGB conducts yearly a minimum of 3 to 4events that reflects totally Telugu Literacy and Culture. These events are usually scheduled on or around Indian/Telugu festivals called,Ugadi, Deepavali and Sankranthi.
TAGB does not promote a single religion, but our cultural events are based upon religiously auspicious days where majority of the community members find time to meet and greet each other and enjoy our tradition. Those events are themed to reflect such religious festivals and holidays. TAGB continuously promotes and celebrates Indian cultural holidays and festivals, though we are several thousands of miles away from India. TAGB supports local American non-profit Organizations by inviting and allowing such organizations to Present and setup stalls/booths at TAGB events. Few of our efforts in recent years in coordination with other Organizations are –
Finally how would you like the community to get involved in the celebrations?
We want every community member to participate in the celebrations along with their friends and families. As this is a mega budget event we sincerely request the community members to come forward with any possible sponsorships/donations and spread the word about this Grand Event .
To know more about TAGB charity efforts goto www.tagb.org
TAGB Silver Jubilee highlights
Telugu Association of Greater Boston (TAGB) is organizing Silver Jubilee Celebrations on Saturday, October 30 2010 at Aleppo Shrine Auditorium, Wilmington MA. The Committee is designing the program to suit the interests and needs of all age groups covering cultural, social, literary and spiritual activities. This will be an event with external and local talent performances. The day begins with Sri Sita Rama Kalyanam and followed by different game shows and non-stop entertainment until midnight. External performances include Sri Mani Sarma’s Musical Night with Gita Madhuri, Hema Chandra, Malavika, Karunya, Murali, Anitha Chowdary and few other popular artists; Anchor Smt. Jhansi’s Game Shows and entertainment; Sri Jonnavithula Ramalingeswarrao’s Literary Performances; Comedy Show by Tollywood comedian Venki and team; Classical and Folk Dance Ballets and several other programs by local and other US artists.
Despite the high budget, the committee decided to set affordable ticket prices so that everyone can participate in this grand event and have whole day of entertainment. Adult Ticket $40; Child Ticket (Age 5 -9) $10, Child Ticket (Age 10-17) $20, Student Ticket (Age 18 – 25) $30. Kids under 5 Years will be admitted free. All ticket prices include Lunch and Dinner. Tickets can be purchased from any of the Committee Members or can be purchased on-line. For further details visit tagb.org or contact executive-committee@tagb.org.
TAGB needs all your support in terms of participation and spreading the message. We are looking for generous donors and sponsors to support Silver Jubilee Celebrations. We will provide periodic updates on a regular basis. We need at least 100 volunteers to support before, during and after the event. If any of you are interested in volunteering, please contact executive-committee@tagb.org.
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