BY SHILPA AGARWAL
Photos by Rajesh Khanna Photography, Pankaj Sharma
Atlanta, GA, September 1, 2023: The Atlanta Hindi Association once more united individuals to celebrate verse that transcends age, societal divisions, and international boundaries. Gauging from the multitude that filled the halls of the Impact Conference Center in Global Mall on the evening of August 04, 2023, the humorous confluence emerged as a resounding triumph.
Humor poets Dr Sarita Sharma, Sudeep Bhola and Gaurav Sharma presented their funny bone tickling poetry, creating an atmosphere of laughter and joy in the hall. The Atlanta Hindi Association has been consistently organizing poetry events to promote Hindi and connect Hindi speakers in the Atlanta area, creating a sense of India’s essence even in a foreign land. The event witnessed the active participation of various volunteers, sponsors, and individuals, reflecting the enthusiasm for the Hindi language and its culture. The event’s success attests to the enduring connection that Hindi language lovers maintain, regardless of distance, and their collaborative efforts to share their mother tongue’s richness.
The program commenced with the lighting of lamps by all sponsors. Principal organizer and Atlanta Hindi Association’s Founder Sanjeev Agarwal welcomed the audience with a punch of humor to start the event on the right node and this was followed by a prayer by students of “Sangeet Bitan Music School”.
Introducing the NGO “EKAL Foundation” working for the holistic development of rural India, Atlanta Chapter President Mr. Shiv Agarwal shared insights about the program and the commendable work they do for rural India. The net proceeds from Haasya Kavi Sammelan Atlanta chapter will be donated to “EKAL Foundation” this year.
Ayan Agarwal detailed the efforts of “Inspiring Together” a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, serving the foster and underprivileged children in USA.
Poets were warmly introduced by High-school students Anshika Mangla, Ishaan Agarwal and Ayan Agarwal, and little kids welcomed them on the stage by offering roses.
Sudeep Bhola, ignited the patriotic spark with “Jalaaye Ek Diya hum un Veeron ke Naam.” The audience engagement dawned upon the true love for India that resides deeply in the hearts of Indians across the world. His parodies loaded with contemporary Indian political satire and the funny jibes on politicians led to reverberating laughter.
Gaurav Sharma, famous for his witty couplets, displayed his knack for humor in everyday life. Addressing himself as a “Poet of Observation,” he churned poetical satires about inflation, the common man’s woes, and humor emerging from everyday hustle-bustle were giggle-triggers.
Dr. Sarita Sharma, mesmerized the audience with her poetry and verses full of love and devotion. Her singing renditions were a true image of the versatile canvas of Hindi Literature.
The palpable enthusiasm shown by student volunteers of all ages was very evident. The volunteer students who helped with the seamless flow of the event were Shivam, Samvar, Esha, Kunal, Deepansh, Pari, Pramiti, Maanya, Aarav, Aryahi, Anna, Dhairya, Yoshna, Saharsh, Arnav, Esha, Divyansh, Annika, Sanchay, Atharva, Shivaali, Anish, Tanvi, Sayan, Soham, Shivi, Yuvaan, Arhaan and Ayaansh.
A team of energetic volunteers cared for all the countless tangents of the event under the leadership of Sanjeev and Dipti Agarwal. The volunteers who played a pivotal role in the success of the event were Abhishek, Neha Gupta, Alok, Shilpa Agrawal, Amit, Ruchi Chaurasia, Sachin Mangla, Gaurav, Priyanka Jain, Kanupriya, Karan, Tripti Garg, Kiran Sajjan, Vishal, Pallavi Gupta, Mukesh, Mustafa Ajmeri, Pankaj, Sarita Sharma, Rajesh, Meera Agarwal, Rajiv, Vineeta Bhatnagar, , Manish and Richa Sinha, Rajesh, Anubha Mittal, Sachin Agarwal, Shree Vohra, Shweta Dubey, Siddharth, Saloni Agarwal, Sumit Dwivedi, Premal, Jinal Shah Vinay Chowdhary, Neha, Vineet Gupta, Asheem, Ashish, Puja Gupta, Brijrani Verma, Vishal Sharma, and Prachi Vohra
Haasya Kavi Sammelan received praise from Vice Consul Namita Rawat and other officials from the Atlanta Indian Consulate.
Atlanta Hindi Association recognized Kailash Khandelwal and Nisha Khandelwal, from Atlanta Dunia, who have been persistent in their dedication towards upholding Hindi marked their presence and supported the organizing team. Various other media beacons like TV Asia’s Anjali Chhabria, Khabar and NRI Pulse Media delegates enjoyed and covered the prestigious annually recurring event.
To continue the fluidity of “Haasya Kavi Sammelan” in Atlanta, the event was sponsored and supported by Sheetal Desai of “The Trusted Lawyers”, Reena Gupta of 27th Investments, Premal and Jinal Shah of Sovi Salon, Shiv Agarwal of Global Mall, Aslam Parvez of Parvez Decorators, Ricki Walia of Aashiana, Om Arora Insurance, Rinki Patnayak of Sasa Interiors, Rikhia Saha of Sangeet Bitan Music School, Nitin and Surbhi Arora of S&N Realty Team, Sachin Mangla Realty, Shyam Gupta Real Estate, Navdeep Man (Singh Insurance Group), Supriti Balyan of Peachtree Dental, Manish and Richa Sinha of MyOrlandoStay.com, Friends from Bihar (BAJA), Friends from Rajasthan (RAJA) and Agrawal Friends of Atlanta.
DJ Komal and Gaurav Bhagat ensured that sound quality was perfect, and Photographer Rajesh Khanna and Pankaj Sharma captured the unfiltered vibe of the event while the decoration by Parvez Decorators set up the perfect stage.
The event wrapped up with a “Vote of Thanks” by Sanjeev Agarwal to the poets while recognizing the volunteers and sponsors.
Hasya Kavi Sammelan 2023, was exemplary in several ways. The event filled with humor, patriotism, and versatile colors of poetry will linger on the minds of Atlanta literature aficionados and humor loving audiences for a long time. Success of Events like “Hasya Kavi Sammelan, Atlanta” re-iterate the fact that the love for Hindi will continue to weave through any paradigm- shift and bring Indian diaspora together year after year.
