BATA’s Sankranthi Sambaralu in the
Bay Area
Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) celebrated its annual Sankranthi
Event in grand style on January 15th at the Sunnyvale Hindu
Temple. The one-of-a-kind
event featured cooking & rangoli competitions for the first time in BATA
events along with funfilled cultural evening which included a unique fashion
show that depicted various fashions of the century. Over 500 people attended
the event.
The auditorium was beautifully decorated to give an ethnic
look of Sankranthi. Everyone was welcomed by the colorful display of a huge “muggu”
made from vegetables, flower petals, lentils & other regular household
items. The decorations, the stage backdrop coupled with the traditional outfits
by the audience, participants & BATA volunteers reflected a festive
atmosphere. A unique village display
with “gangireddu” and “bommarillu” were a special attraction.
The event kicked
off with Rangavalli (Muggula Potilu). This event was exclusively covered by TV9
as part of their national level rangoli competitions. Lot
of participants displayed their artistry with various colors in just 45
minutes. The finished rangoli was a sight to see and brought nostalgic memories
of villages and towns back in India.
This was followed by Little Chef, an on-the-spot display of cooking prowess by
young kids between 7- 18yrs. The enthusiasm and excitement shown by the kids
and the wide range of food they prepared from pasta, Quesadilla, aloo methi parata,
banana wrap, macaroni cheese, sandwich to traditional payasam
made it a very difficult decision for the judges. Then it was the turn of the
adults. Super Chef showcased the cooking talents of men & women.
Appetizers, Entrees & desserts presented a sumptuous dinner buffet. Over 30
people participated in Super Chef competition and brought home made Sankranti Special Ariselu to
Andhra Special Gutti Vankaya.
Vijaya Aasuri then officially kicked off the
evening cultural program by inviting all the kids for “Bhogi Pallu” in front of
the bommala koluvu. The
congregation of 50 kids & elders with traditional devotional songs by grandparents
made it seem like a big family gathering – “Vasudhaika Kutumba”. Yuvatarangam
came next. This fun competition between teams from various cities tested them
in various categories like audio/video trivia, antyakshari,
rapid fire and many other special rounds. Audience participated equally and won
prizes for their answers and participation. Sunnyvale team emerged victorious eventually.
Ms.Vijaya
Aasuri invited Jayaram
Komati, TANA President and Satish Chilukuri,
Convener TANA Convention 2011 to the stage. Jayaram Komati expressed his excitement to see TANA 2011
coming to Santa Clara, CA. He sought support from the entire Telugu
fraternity to make the convention a grand success. Satish
Chilukuri mentioned that though it’s a proud &
happy moment that the TANA convention is coming to Bay Area, it’s also a time
for all the Telugus in the Bay Area to ensure that we do a great convention
here. He requested everyone to spread the word about convention and also get
involved in any way they can to make it a grand success.
Comic Tonic featured
young talent from Bay Area. Basha &
Anil Chintalapati performed mimicry of various movie artists and entertained
the audience with loads of humor.
Then came the
highlight of the event
“Taratarala Vaibhavam” – a fashion show reflecting rich Indian
history, tradition & culture. It started off showcasing the grandeur &
attires of prominent kings that ruled India at various periods in time.
Audience was mesmerized to see Ashoka, Chalukya, Chandragupta Maurya, Raja Raja
Chola, Rudramadevi, Kanishka, Akbar, Shivaji, Pallava, Gautamiputra Satakarni, Harishchandra & Sri Krishnadeveraya in authentic
costumes and Jewelry from their era. This royal extravaganza left the audience
spellbound and was received with thunderous applause. This was followed by
traditional display of ethnic & modern Indian costumes by kids &
adults. The vibrant & colorful costumes, the choreographed walks & the
grand finale showcasing everyone mesmerized the audience.
There was a huge support for this event from the businesses.
Ramesh Konda thanked all the sponsors and invited them on stage to present a
token of appreciation to each one of them. Ravi Tax Services was the Grand
Sponsor and the Platinum Sponsors include Fortune Infra Developers Pvt Ltd,
Peacock Indian Cuisine, Channel Real Estate & Mortgage , Swagat Indian Cuisine , Abhiruchi
Indian Cuisine, Bay Area Hot Breads , Kokila's Kitchen, Scopus Consulting
Group, Paratha Point, www.visitorscoverage.com, AAA Satellite – Authorized Dish
Network Retailer, Precious Dental Care - Dr. Vaishali, Raji Insurance, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage - Jugeta Awasty.
This event was promoted by prominent media includes Virijallu (Local Radio
Show), TV9, and Telugu Times.
Srilu Veligeti,
president of BATA, thanked all the audience for gracing the occasion and making
it a big success. She thanked all the
participants for coming forward and taking part in the Rangavalli
and cooking competitions. She thanked
all the sponsors for their support to the organization through the
years. She mentioned that BATA made
signification strides in doing things besides the cultural programs such as
partnering with non-profits like Sankara Eye Foundation, ILP, CCF, Spandana and
organizing activities such as Fundraisers and Sports Tournaments. She pointed
that BATA is all about encouraging new talent and creating an environment where
the talent can be nourished and appreciated.
The prizes for Rangavalli
(Muggula Potilu), Cooking, and Yuvatharangam competitions
were sponsored by PNG Jewelers, Sneha Restaurant,
Minerva Restaurant, Biryani Bowl and AAA Gems &
Beads.
Srilu Veligeti introduced the BATA committee consisting of
Srinivas Kolli (Vice President), Srini Mangipudi (Secretary), Ramesh Konda
(Treasurer), Kamesh Malla (Joint Secretary), Vijaya Aasuri, Kalyan Kattamuri ,
Sirisha Battula and Yashwant. Srilu specially thanked Veeru Vuppala and Karun
Veligeti for logistical help & overall co-ordination. She also thanked all
the volunteers who toiled hard tirelessly in making the event a grand success. BATA volunteers include Prasad, Ravi, Narasimha Rao, Sridevi, Sumanth, Kiran, Srikar, Vihar, Satheesh,
Jhansi, Sudha, Jyotsna, Krishna Priya, Kondal, Ram, Keerthi, Swathi, Tanuja, Roopa, Shiva, Anil, Sravanti, Durga, Deepti,
Sirisha, Shaan, Kiran, Mahati, Santosh, Sheera, Aditya, Pavitra, Sunanda.
Please checkout the pictures at
www.bata.org/site/events/2011/Sankranti/Gallery
Rangavalli Competition Winners:
1. Kusum Yarlagadda
2. Vaishali
Dheshpande
3. Lakshmi
Gunda & Koteswari
Special Appreciation: Uma Maheswari
Little Chef Competition Winners:
1.
Hamsini Ajjan(Casadia)
2.
Aditi (Aloo Methi Parata)
3.
Charita Mangina (Payasam)
Special Appreciation: Sruti Vutukury & Anjali Bathula
Super Chef Competition Winners:
Appetizers
1. Alasanda Vadalu
2. Palak Chat
3. Veg Puff
Main Dish
1. Muvva Vankaya
2. Joe Palak
3. Besan Curry
Dessert/Sweets
1. Ariselu
2. Dates Sweet
3. Badam Burfi
Yuvatarangam Winners:
Sunnyvale
Simhalu :
Sumanth, Vittal, Rupesh, Amarnath, Vihar, Anil, Sekhar, Rajesh
