The vision for Essence of India was born from the desire to create bridges of understanding and respect between cultures that are very diverse, as we see among people hailing from western versus Asian countries, or between people from different regions of South Asia.  Seema Kapoor, a business woman, and Sunanda Sahay, an artist, shared the dream and joined hands to turn it into reality.  The idea was initially presented to the Cultural Councils of several towns in the western suburbs and eventually received financial grants from the towns of Acton-Boxborough, Carlisle, and Littleton.  Further support from Recreation department of Town of Acton and several local businesses convinced the two organizers that there was a widespread desire to explore and celebrate the unique classical traditions and arts of India.

The inaugural event was celebrated at NARA Park, Acton on Saturday the 18th.  It was well attended by more than 1,000 citizens from such diverse communities as Indians, Americans, Chinese, Hispanics and several more from northwestern suburbs and other faraway towns in NH and RI.  The event presented the Indian traditions in its most inclusive, expansive sense, and was organized along four main themes.  Classical music and dance performances took place on the main stage.  In adjacent field, exhibits juxtaposed variations in clothes, food, language, craft and art from the four distinct regions of India.  On the far side, children participated in festivities that have uniquely Indian flavor including Holi, Diwali, Rakhi, and Sankranti.  Lastly, on the rear side of the field, service pavilions offered such exotic fare as tantra, yoga, spices, folk goods, handicrafts, and herbal massage.

The stage was beautifully and tastefully decorated by Manisha Choudhary and Padmaja Kuchimanchi.The stage performances, emceed by Amrita Saigal and Swathi Subramanian, began with classical dances.  Kathak by Urmi Samadar and her students, Bhratanatyam by the students of Nrtityanjali school of dance by Jothi Raghavan, Odissi by Mouli Pal, and Kuchipudi by Prafulla Velury and her students who came all the way from Rhode Island.  The vocal and instrumental performers were Meena Sundaram and her students, Niladri Sinha - a student of George Ruckert - on Sarod, Bhavadhaarini Anantaraman on Veena along with her husband Venkatesh Gopalakrishnan on Mridangam, and Dipu Deshmukh on Israj with Koushik Chakrabarty on Tabla.  Khayal rendition by Shuchita Rao and her students mesmerized the audience.

The stage events ended with gorgeous and stunning performances of folk dances (Lavni and Garba) representing the western states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan by Aangikam School of dance by the students of  Jasmine Shah.  As a surprise element Nikita Shah and group presented the flash mob dance on the song of Jai ho…  To prepare the Pavilion of Indian States, a large number of volunteers worked passionately to showcase artifacts, history and storyboards describing the noblest aspects of respective cultures.  The pavilions were richly and colorfully arranged and throngs of visitors pushed their way through to get close views.  The flow of curious visitors was so unrelenting that at the end of the day a host admitted that she could only afford to address groups of people at a time, never  an individual.

In the festival booths, Padmini Narayan of Chinmaya Mission worked with children to celebrate the main festivals of India.  Kids made dozens of kites, diyas, rakhis and rangolis with Padmini and her volunteers.  Nearby, kids designed peacocks, India’s national bird and also the event’s logo, under the guidance of Gopika Narula.  A number of women and children were seen with beautiful henna designs on their hands, thanks to the artists Arti Mahajan and Manisha Trivedi.  

Of course, no celebration of India is complete without a taste of the kebab, kulfi, curry and samosas.  The event sponsors Bollywood Grill and Bollywood Delight laid out a savory selection of Indian dishes that provided a fitting touch to a beautiful afternoon that was completely soaked in the sounds, sights, memories and emotions of India.  Buoyed by the encouragement and applause of the audience, the coordinators are already contemplating a repeat of this event next year and are looking forward to even more ambitious programming and broader attendance.

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