On Saturday May 18th 2013, Indian Association of New Hampshire (“IANH”) held its annual Spring Festival at Nashua High School North.  The event saw an attendance of over 600 people and more than 40 performances featuring children of all ages and adults. The event kicked off with an introduction from Dr. Tej Dhakar, secretary of IANH.  Dr. Dhakar welcomed the audience, and introduced the emcees for the evening, Anjithaa Radhakrishnan and Pragya Rachur.

This was followed by the distribution of plaques to the winners of the North South Foundation NH Regional Education Bees conducted by the IANH. There were a total of 27 winners for 9 different competitions.  IANH would like to thank the Kumon Center of Nashua for sponsoring the plaques.

The performances began with a tabla solo by Jairaj Sharma. This was followed by the singing of the classic bhajan, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, by Karishma and Akshay Manchanda. The evening continued with performances of all genres.  It was especially nice to see performances inspired by spring, such as ‘Dil Garden Garden’, performed by Ekta Patel, Ishitha Gandhi, Ria Parikh, Pari Parikh, and Shreya Khanal, and ‘Kathak Juganbandhi’, performed by Tej, Yash, and Himanshi Patel. The night was rounded out with a mix of instrumental recitals, vocal recitals, and dance performances.

One highlight of the evening was the introduction of the very first IANH art exhibition. The exhibition featured artwork by kids and adults of all ages. There were pieces of all mediums, including pencil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and more.  With more than 40 pieces entered, the exhibition was a huge success, and is something to look forward to in the future.

IANH also disbursed funds that were collected this year, during Nach Night and Dawat held earlier in the season. Every year, IANH unfailingly donates money to a multitude of charitable organizations. IANH fundraisers from this year collected more $12,636. The remaining $8,864 was matched by IANH to make up a total disbursement of $21,500. This year, five charities benefited from this year’s IANH fundraiser events.  The disbursement of funds is listed below:

Nashua Children’s Home: $2,500
Cure with Hope: $2,500
Nashua Soup Kitchens: $5,000
Manchester Soup Kitchen: $5,000 each
Udavum Karangal (Pharmacy Project): $6,500

Representatives of the charities attended the event and collected the checks on behalf of their charities.  We had Sheelu Joshi Flegal, Residential Director of the Nashua Children’s Home,  Martin and Charlene Tabat of Cure with Hope,  Brian Cullen, member of the Board of Directors of the Nashua Soup Kitchen, Neelesh Shah from Udavum Karangal, and Charlie Sherman, Executive Director for New Horizons, which runs the Manchester Soup Kitchen.

It was truly inspiring to see how IANH’s dedication and efforts were appreciated by these charities. With support from volunteers, kids, and adults, IANH continues to help those in need and give back to the community.

Thank you once again to all, who made this year, yet another successful celebration of coming together as a community, connecting  and giving back. 

The IANH Youth Group also hosted Nach Night 2013 at Alpine Grove in March 2013.. The proceeds went to the Nashua/Manchester Soup Kitchens and Cure with Hope. The latter is a locally founded charity that focuses on brightening the hospital stays of children with cancer. Cure With Hope was created by Rebecca Tabat, a student who attended Nashua High School North. Rebecca was well-liked by everyone and had a sweet disposition. She was diagnosed July of 2009 and passed away ten months later on March 29th, 2010 from metastatic, signet-ring adenocarcinoma, a very rare form of cancer. Mrs. Tabat, Rebecca's mother, attended the event and was very moved by the fact that the Youth Group "chose to honor Rebecca's  legacy." Youth Group Vice President Anjana Mangalat, from Nashua North, and Rucha Gor from Nashua South, worked hard to get both schools' National Honor Societies to allow attendance at Nach Night as a credit opportunity.

Nach Night 2013 beat all previous records to raise over $4,250 for Cure with Hope and the Nashua/Manchester Soup Kitchens. The group is thankful to the following businesses who sponsored Nach Night: Rashda's Beauty  Salon, India Palace, Global Flavors, Cafe India, Valentino's Pizza, and  Mohan Punjabi of 7/11. The Youth Group is also grateful to Venu Rao, Prithvi Kumar, Kala Kumar, Vandana Dhakar, Tej Dhakar and an anonymous  donor who wrote a check for $1,500. The Youth Group could also not have carried out all its commitments without the invaluable help of Pushpa Gopal and Venu Rao.

The dance was a big success with over 250 people in attendance. DJs Schmitty and Truffula provided fun and upbeat music to dance to. With a mix of modern pop and Bollywood hits, there was something for everyone. It was very enjoyable and everyone is looking forward to the next Nach Night!

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