6th Annual TELICA Diwali Festival Brings Telfair to Cornerstone Elementary
TELICA board members from left: Deepak Kanwar (lead coordinator 2013 Diwali); Raju Muppala, Prakash Shah (Treasurar), Ravi Ranjan (President), Satya Narendrula (Secretary), Sundar Moorthy, Praveen Bhavani and Siva Juturi. Not seen Ambuj Bajpai, Amit Mittal and Shankar Vaidyanathan.
By Deepak Kanwar
SUGAR LAND: The Cornerstone Elementary School was once again the site for the Annual Telfair Diwali Festival organized by Telfair Indian American Culture Association (TELICA). Now in its 6th year, the TELICA celebration of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, attracted over a 1,000 Telfair adults and children colorfully dressed in their traditional Indian clothing. The event was sponsored by MetLife; TelfairLife.com; Infinity Water Softener; and Amerivijue
FBISD Cornerstone Elementary School’s Choir performing at 2013 Telfair Diwali organized by TELICA.
At the entranceway, the guests were greeted by a beautiful Rangoli creation by Sangita Bhutada, whose mesmerizing designs continue to amaze people year after year. The day started with a series of kids’ activities including Puja Thali decoration, Rocket Bookmark and a Lord Ganesha themed car decoration. Women and girls also took full advantage of the free Henna and Nail Art activities and were seen proudly showing off their newly “beautified” hands. Several youth volunteers helped lead coordinators in managing these activities.
The afternoon programs started at around noon with Ganesh Vandana by Urvashi Shah. The TELICA president Ravi Ranjan kicked off the afternoon festivities by welcoming the guests. He invited distinguished guest Dean of Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston, Dr. Latha Ramchand, to join the TELICA organizers, in lighting the lamp that signifies the elimination of darkness. Dr. Ramchand then gave a short address discussing the significance of Diwali and the importance of celebrations such as this for the younger generation.
This was followed by a dazzling display of songs and dances. A wonderful mix of instrumentals, vocals, classical and Bollywood style dances enchanted the audience for three hours and left them wanting more. The preparation that was put in by the participants and the choreographers, many of whom were simply volunteering their time, was remarkable.
Midway through the show, distinguished guest, Sugar Land Police Chief Doug Brinkley took the stage and talked about living in Sugar Land. He was very appreciative of the TELICA plans to put together a fund raiser to benefit the Sugar Land police force.
The grand finale was provided by the Choir from our own Cornerstone Elementary School. Led by Laura Klein, the choir put together a wonderful set of songs including La Tarara and Ode to Joy.
Deepak Kanwar was the lead coordinator, Sanjeev Yamdagni coordinated the cultural programs and Roopali Mittal coordinated the kid’s activities.
For further information visit www.telica.org for festival pictures or to get more details about the event and organization.