That iconic Hatch Shell has been the home of the India Association of Greater Boston’s India day celebrations for many years now. Indian American have cherished performing on the stage by the Charles river. The effects of the horrible tragedy of the marathon bombing had its effect many months later, on the Indian Association of Greater Boston(IAGB). IAGB was required to pay extra large sums for additional security, which made the Hatch Shell a non-viable option for a venue. 

President Amrit Soni and the entire IAGB team worked diligently to find an alternative venue and moved the entire program to the Collins Center in Andover, MA. Given the scale of the program, this move was not trivial and kudos to the IAGB team for making this happen. 

The India day, which celebrates India’s independence day is a talent showcase where young and old present variety of song and dance items. Satvik Ahluwalia, Monica Gill, Jharna Madan and Kavyashree Mallana served as MCEES.   The backdrop was beautifully setup under the direction of Raksha Soni.  The Shishubharati band played the national anthem. This was followed by an outstanding presentation from a group called Sa from the Berklee College of Music. 

Four central items were highlighted in the showcase. A classical dance presentation by Sheetal Dwarka, Samoyita Mukherjee, Jasmine Shah and Jayshree Bala Rajamani titled “The Teacher’s Dance”, a dance called Nari Shakti choreographed by Jasmine Shah, “Tribute to Helen” choreographed by Nikita Rao and a medley of songs presented by Mohan Subramanium, Anuradha Palakurthi, Shraddha Agarwal and Shirish Nimagoankar made it to the highlighted part of the showcase. 

As usual it was a wonderful Mele atmosphere with vendors showing off their wares and people having time wandering the halls, eating good food, watching performances and having an great time overall. 

Saheli, an IAGB group established during the Presidency of Kaplesh Kumar, that works to support victims of domestic violence is holding a fundraiser, Sept 20 and urges everyone to attend and support this event.