BY SONAM MIRPURI
LONG BEACH, CA - The Shivaji Maharaj America Parivaar (SMAP) held a Shiv Jayanti festival commemorating the 389th birthday of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Mar 9 at the Furjanick and Sandberg Auditorium here. The aim of the festival was to enlighten and demonstrate to the children of the local Indian American community...
LONG BEACH, CA - The Shivaji Maharaj America Parivaar (SMAP) held a Shiv Jayanti festival commemorating the 389th birthday of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Mar 9 at the Furjanick and Sandberg Auditorium here. The aim of the festival was to enlighten and demonstrate to the children of the local Indian American community...
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the prowess of brave leaders who are not as well-known so that this generation and future generations can become aware of their roots and feel a sense of pride of their legacy.
Beginning the evening came a first of its kind Unity March which presented an outstanding expression of culture. The march was led by a dhol and tasha pathak team which comprised of 14 performers, SMAP members, and organizers. There were 26 Lezim, ( folk dance of Maharashtra) dancers and children carrying traditional flags. All of whom were followed by a palkhi which carried an idol of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Sandeep Katre led the dhol and tasha group while Sonali Bhave led the Lezim and flag dance. All of the palkhi arrangements were made by Mangesh Raut.
Anil Desai played keyboard to keep attendees entertained as they waited in anticipation in the auditorium.
The main event started with emcee Sujatha Padmanabhan, an ESPN presenter, singer, and IT professional requesting prominent guests Avadhesh Agarwal, Rasika Sunil, actress; Jose Fierro, President of Cerritos College; Nitesh Patel, Councilmember for the City of La Palma; Dr. Shin Liu, Vice President and Board of Trustee Cerritos College; and others to come to the stage for the lamp lighting ceremony along with the organizing committee members. Following this, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj idol was taken out of the palkhi and installed on the stage while Hemant Kale, keynote speaker, sang Shivgarjana. Sampurna Dube, a youth leader from the Bengali Association, sang the American and Indian national anthems.
Vijay Patil, Founder of SMAP, brought to the forefront many of Shivaji Maharaj’s charatcteristics which SMAP aspires to embody. `` With Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a role model, SMAP promotes the
values that he represented,” Patil said, adding ``SMAP is primarily engaged in spreading unity and leadership lessons learned from Shivaji Maharaj which can be applied in the world today.We’d like to identify and create the kind of leaders in the U.S. who will support the cause of unity.”
Vilas Jadhav spoke about the guests who were invited to the stage during the lamp lighting ceremony as well as Harry Siddhu, Mayor City of Anaheim; Naresh Solanki, Mayor Pro Tem City of Cerritos; Rushabh Rupani, student leader; Ashok Patnaik, Commissioner City of Cerritos; Ramesh Ramnani, Chairman UFICA; Kanaksinh Zala, BAPS; and more.
He also welcomed Rishi Dhakal, Consul General of Nepal; Prem Guragain, Pashupathinath Foundation; Bhakta Thapa, President Pashupathinath Temple; and others.
Vasundhara Pawar then recognized sponsors. Avadhesh and Uma Agarwal, Ashok and Manju Madan,Dr. Seema Hanamsagar, Vilas Jadhav, Dr. Shilpa Gaikwad, Sanjay Shah, Bharat Saoji, Jayant Manohar and Pravin Patel.
“Without their support, an event of this magnitude would not have been possible” said Pawar.
Atharva Sathe, Anika Patil and and Eshan Patil then presented a video to honor national heroes. The video, created by Niranjan Sathe, gave a brief summary of the lives of Indian national heroes, Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Rani Laxmibai.
“Today, we offer tribute to these national heroes for standing up for their people and sacrificing their lives to resist the forces of invasion and protecting our culture, our customs and our way of life for centuries” said Sathe, a youth leader.
Los Angeles Film, Theater, and Arts,a non-profit organization, then presented an hour long play which depicted the life and values of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Pradnya Kuwadekar wrote the script, choreographed, and directed the play in which 64 artists performed.
The Lezim dance and flags team arrived to take part in the celebration. Dhol created a high energy atmosphere in the auditorium. The act received a standing ovation from the audience who were packed on two levels of the auditorium. Atul Patil played the role of Raja Shiv Chhatrapati.
Students of Savithri Arts Academy next presented a high energy dance drama. It was choreographed by Dr. Sinduri Jayasinghe with 30 Bharatnatyam dancers depicting the stories of Shivaji Maharaj .
Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat; Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Balasaheb Purendare, Padma Vibhushan awardee; Mahima Chaudhary, Bollywood actress; Bobby Bedi, Bollywood actor; Rasika Sunil, actress; and Ankita Raina, Tennis Star of India to name a few, endorsed the event and SMAP and sent video and letter messages. Kale spoke about the importance of Shivaji Maharaj’s values in history and today. He also spoke about how years later no one will care about material things, but will only remember the individuals who helped to make a change for the better.
“Inspire to unite and make an impact in society,” said Kale.
Vinani Jayasinghe, SMAP youth leader, then presented a dynamic dance drama on the life of Maharani Laxmibai. This was also brought to the audience by Savithri Arts Academy. Aparna Hande thanked all concerned.
Beginning the evening came a first of its kind Unity March which presented an outstanding expression of culture. The march was led by a dhol and tasha pathak team which comprised of 14 performers, SMAP members, and organizers. There were 26 Lezim, ( folk dance of Maharashtra) dancers and children carrying traditional flags. All of whom were followed by a palkhi which carried an idol of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Sandeep Katre led the dhol and tasha group while Sonali Bhave led the Lezim and flag dance. All of the palkhi arrangements were made by Mangesh Raut.
Anil Desai played keyboard to keep attendees entertained as they waited in anticipation in the auditorium.
The main event started with emcee Sujatha Padmanabhan, an ESPN presenter, singer, and IT professional requesting prominent guests Avadhesh Agarwal, Rasika Sunil, actress; Jose Fierro, President of Cerritos College; Nitesh Patel, Councilmember for the City of La Palma; Dr. Shin Liu, Vice President and Board of Trustee Cerritos College; and others to come to the stage for the lamp lighting ceremony along with the organizing committee members. Following this, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj idol was taken out of the palkhi and installed on the stage while Hemant Kale, keynote speaker, sang Shivgarjana. Sampurna Dube, a youth leader from the Bengali Association, sang the American and Indian national anthems.
Vijay Patil, Founder of SMAP, brought to the forefront many of Shivaji Maharaj’s charatcteristics which SMAP aspires to embody. `` With Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a role model, SMAP promotes the
values that he represented,” Patil said, adding ``SMAP is primarily engaged in spreading unity and leadership lessons learned from Shivaji Maharaj which can be applied in the world today.We’d like to identify and create the kind of leaders in the U.S. who will support the cause of unity.”
Vilas Jadhav spoke about the guests who were invited to the stage during the lamp lighting ceremony as well as Harry Siddhu, Mayor City of Anaheim; Naresh Solanki, Mayor Pro Tem City of Cerritos; Rushabh Rupani, student leader; Ashok Patnaik, Commissioner City of Cerritos; Ramesh Ramnani, Chairman UFICA; Kanaksinh Zala, BAPS; and more.
He also welcomed Rishi Dhakal, Consul General of Nepal; Prem Guragain, Pashupathinath Foundation; Bhakta Thapa, President Pashupathinath Temple; and others.
Vasundhara Pawar then recognized sponsors. Avadhesh and Uma Agarwal, Ashok and Manju Madan,Dr. Seema Hanamsagar, Vilas Jadhav, Dr. Shilpa Gaikwad, Sanjay Shah, Bharat Saoji, Jayant Manohar and Pravin Patel.
“Without their support, an event of this magnitude would not have been possible” said Pawar.
Atharva Sathe, Anika Patil and and Eshan Patil then presented a video to honor national heroes. The video, created by Niranjan Sathe, gave a brief summary of the lives of Indian national heroes, Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Rani Laxmibai.
“Today, we offer tribute to these national heroes for standing up for their people and sacrificing their lives to resist the forces of invasion and protecting our culture, our customs and our way of life for centuries” said Sathe, a youth leader.
Los Angeles Film, Theater, and Arts,a non-profit organization, then presented an hour long play which depicted the life and values of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Pradnya Kuwadekar wrote the script, choreographed, and directed the play in which 64 artists performed.
The Lezim dance and flags team arrived to take part in the celebration. Dhol created a high energy atmosphere in the auditorium. The act received a standing ovation from the audience who were packed on two levels of the auditorium. Atul Patil played the role of Raja Shiv Chhatrapati.
Students of Savithri Arts Academy next presented a high energy dance drama. It was choreographed by Dr. Sinduri Jayasinghe with 30 Bharatnatyam dancers depicting the stories of Shivaji Maharaj .
Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat; Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Balasaheb Purendare, Padma Vibhushan awardee; Mahima Chaudhary, Bollywood actress; Bobby Bedi, Bollywood actor; Rasika Sunil, actress; and Ankita Raina, Tennis Star of India to name a few, endorsed the event and SMAP and sent video and letter messages. Kale spoke about the importance of Shivaji Maharaj’s values in history and today. He also spoke about how years later no one will care about material things, but will only remember the individuals who helped to make a change for the better.
“Inspire to unite and make an impact in society,” said Kale.
Vinani Jayasinghe, SMAP youth leader, then presented a dynamic dance drama on the life of Maharani Laxmibai. This was also brought to the audience by Savithri Arts Academy. Aparna Hande thanked all concerned.
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