Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio
Children's Day India Cultural Garden in Cleveland September 17, 2023
Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio (AAIWO) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization for Asian Indian women promoting professional development and education through scholarships and cultural outreach programs. Their aim is to foster and support women for personal and professional advancement while providing volunteer opportunities. AAIWO promotes culture and education while establishing productive social networks for women. AAIWO sponsors multi-cultural activities to promote cultural understanding in their community.
On September 17, 2023 they hosted Children's Day in the India Cultural Garden in Cleveland.
Mrs. Mahima Rao
Before the cultural performances MC Mahima Rao welcomed the crowd, led the national anthems of India and the USA and introduced two Chief Guests: Ron Falconi, Mayor of Brunswick and Bharat Kumar, founder of India Fest USA.
Mahima Rao with Mayor Ron Falconi
Mahima Rao, Vineetha Jayaram and Mayor Ron Falconi
Bharat Kumar
Chief Guests Ron Falconi and Bharat Kumar
Ron Falconi, Deepa Rao, Mahima Rao and Bharat Kumar
Bharat Kumar, Pushpalatha Venkataraman, Mahima Rao, Deepa Rao and Ron Falconi
Mrs. Savitri Rao, Mahima Rao and Bharat Kumar
Next Mahima Rao spoke about AAIWO and introduced AAIWO president Vineetha Jayaram who told about the group.
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Vineetha Jayaram and Mahima Rao
Vineetha Jayaram
Not all the performances can be posted because of copyright issues but here are most of them.
Ms. Riya, MC for the performances
The first performance was 5 girls singing the patriotic song "Jayathi Jayathi Bharata Mata" translated to "Victory Victory to Mother India". The song has become a standard among classical singers of South India. It was written by Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri (1893-1958) who was a Carnatic music composer. This song is one of the 18 songs in his book 'Bharat Bhajan' which was published in the year 1948 containing songs in praise of Bharat Matha (Mother India) and Mahatma Gandhi.
This young man performed an Ed Sheeran song on his guitar.
In this next performance a 4th grader sang a popular song from an Indian movie.
Next, three school students spoke about the diverse cultures of India including the Philosophy of India, Festivals of India, Clothing of India, Cuisine of India, Literature of India, Dances and Drama of India and the Music of India.
Next was this 4th grade girl singing a song from a popular Indian movie.
In this performance two young girls performed a Bollywood dance routine.
In this performance two young people sing Vande Mataram (I praise you, Motherland) which is a poem written in Sanskrit and Sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s. The first two verses of the poem were adopted as the National Song of India.
In this performance three girls performed a semi-classical Indian dance.
In this performance a young lady performs classical and then Bollywood dances.
In this performance a young boy performs "Die Forelle" (German for "The Trout"), Op. 32, D 550, a song composed in early 1817 for solo voice and piano with music by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert.
Next, MC Ms. Riya put down the microphone and performed a Bollywood dance medley.
In this performance a group of students act out the Kannada folklore story Govina Haadu, also called, Punyakotiya Kathe.
In this performance a 5th grader performs an Indian chant.
After the cultural performances MC Mahima Rao and AAIWO president Vineetha Jayaram thanked everyone and called up the performers for a group photo.
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