News and Events |
Annual KP Cultural Meet-2012 Oakhurst, CA July 1, 2012 |
“Samav Karav Gindunaa” –
that is how the 5th Annual KP National Cultural meet – 2012 was in the true sense of the word! Myself, Archana Raina reporting Live from my nook in Cupertino CA! After the successful completion of 4 consecutive KP National Cultural Meets, the 5th KP National Cultural Meet was held June 29th - July 1st in the picturesque valley of Oakhurst. This year undoubtedly was the most unique, incredible and joyous event when many KPs not only from West Coast but all over US (NY, NJ, CT, TX, MD, CO, FL, NV & CA etc) congregated at one place reviving and reminiscing the Kashmiri culture and heritage and thereby connecting with their fellow Kashmiris and rekindling a sense of 'belonging'. Participants were warmly received by the welcome team at the specially set up hospitality desk where they were given welcome packet that included a keepsake camp souvenir- Sports Bottle. The Volunteer Team and Organizers had put together a power packed event. Renowned Kashmiri Pandit singer- Mallika-e-Ghazal Kailash Mehra Sadhu flew in from Jammu (India) just to be a part of this event. It was such an honor to have the “Nightingale of Kashmir” amongst us at the event. The enthusiasm, the zeal, the passion- you could see it all on the beaming faces of the event attendees- from toddlers to teenagers, youngsters to adults, parents to Grandparents. So many Kashmiri vibrant faces flocked at one place reminded me of the Kashmiri wedding and that was the extent of the grandeur. Rajesh Kaul and I were the Emcee’s and I bet together as a team we were pretty entertaining. The event commenced with introductions on Friday evening from the “New-bees” followed by non-stop entertainment. The musical extravaganza kicked off with old classical Bollywood segment – the Golden era of 60’s and 70’s by Chimoy Bose followed by the ecstatic performance by renowned Saxophone player Ramesh Maraj. It was interesting to see the Attendees shedding off their shyness and dancing to the scintillating tunes of music. After this it was the time test the knowledge of the audience with class room type KASHIR JEOPARDY conducted by our own Rajeev Sumbly between two teams- male dominated "MAVALE" and female dominated "DHAMALE'. Mavale won the Jeopardy, all members of the team were presented with AMC Theater gift cards generously sponsored by Deepak Ganju of California. This was followed by scrumptious dinner- the typical Kashmiri cuisine. Post dinner activities started with Ajay Dhar paying musical tribute to Legendary Kashmiri Singer - Vijay Malla. Stage was now set for Kailash Jis performance with full orchestra graciously arranged by our own Dr. Kuldip Thusu on his own dime. Before she started off with a heartfelt Tribute to Vijay Malla and Jagjit Singh she was in for a huge surprise. She was presented with various recognitions/accreditations/certificates on behalf of various US authorities/officials for her Life Time Achievement and Contribution to Kashmiri Culture and Music and also to reinforce the resiliency of Kashmiri Pandits.
The evening went on till well beyond midnight and everyone in the room seemed to have lost the track of time. Subsequently DJ’s Ankit Monga and Neeraj Kaul, at the request of the audience, led campers to the dance floor rocking them till the wee hours of morning! Day3: As they say: “Save the best for the last!” Indeed that is what the last segment was all about! Well, the last day was dedicated to our Galaxy of Shining stars- Our future, Our Angels – our Kashmiri kids. The talented duo; Kastur Kaul and Asheera Monga hosted the Kids segment. What a creative and a brilliant segment it was! There were many kids who were so eager to get onto the stage and perform. We saw the talent of kids in Acting, singing, Mimicry, playing Piano, dancing and painting. It was really a pleasure to see kids try to connect with their Kashmiri roots sub-consciously through their talents. Some of the notable performances were Kashmiri skit by Ishan And Diya Kaul. Kashmir Song by Lola, Asha Ganju-Genett and paintings exhibition by Pearl Raina. All the kids were presented with gift cards of their favorite MacDonald's or Jamba Juice which were sponsored by Deepak Ganju of Bay Area. See many fascinating videos in the current issue. |
Awesome, simply superb!
Added By Amit Raina
Proud to see this kind of celebrations and such talent that brings us closer to our roots even if we live so far from our motherland. Keep up such good work.
Added By Dileep Kaul
Great. Congrats. KEEP ON SMILING. SUGGESTION ;---PL identify,one/few/all kps,as many as possible,the persons on the photographs to connect !
Added By Shiban Raina
I am indeed a member here but did not get any information about this event. Appreciate if you could inform all members so we could all benefit by participating in these events and being a part of this community....than you
Added By Kalpana Handu Guha
Impressed!
Added By Rajesh Bhat