BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, February 18, 2022: Desana Middle School, Alpharetta buzzed with energy when Sruthi Chittoory, founder of Atlanta Indian Family in association with Swetha Pakala, founder of Dance Kidz Dance hosted the Makar Sankranti Utsav on 30th January 2022. Newly elected Mayor of Johns Creek, John Bradberry, Hon. Madan Kumar Ghildiyal, Consular of Indian Consulate, Atlanta, Bob Erramill, Johns Creek City Council member and Ex-Serviceman, Dr. Charanjit Shikh, Founder & President of Indo American Medical Association, Mustafa Ajmeri, CEO of Global Entertainment and Media Services, Venkat Meesala presided as chief guests of the evening. Ved Bhatia from Timestarz news and Khyati Shah from Feelings Magazine also graced the occasion.
Anchored by Sravani Rachakulla, the event featured an art contest for kids and rangoli contest for women based on Sankranti theme. Another highlight of the event included a Fashion Show showcasing diverse cultures of different states in India featuring exclusive collections of Rangoli LLC by Rekha Jumani and choreography by Neelima Sen. Beautiful decorations by Creative Bells Events, DJ by DJ Ameet, and Photography by Arvind Shukla enhanced the milieu of the occasion.
Graceful Kathak Tharana by Anurag Sharma and his Student of Kalashram, USA, Energetic Bhangra performance by Bollyz, and many more amazing performances by local dance schools enthralled the audience. Shopping options were abundant with over 30 stalls who presented their products.
Makar Sankranti marks the first day of the sun’s transit into Makara, marking the end of winter and the beginning of warmer and longer days. Makara Sankranti is the only Indian festival that is celebrated according to solar cycles, while most festivals follow the lunar cycle of the Hindu calendar. Hence, it almost always falls on the same Gregorian date every year (14th January), and rarely does the date shift by a day or so. Sankranti is celebrated in various ways and goes by different names in different states of India, While it is Lohri in Punjab, it is Pongal in Tamilnadu, Bhogali Bihu in Assam and so on. State of Gujarat celebrates the day as Uttarayan with the popular Kite Festival. In line with the theme, the Utsav also featured Kite Flying, with Mayor Bradberry enjoying the festivities with the crowd, flying kites.
“The event was a grand success with an overwhelming response from the Indians in and around Atlanta. This is all only possible because of our amazing Sponsors Chef Dinesh Café, Flippin Pizzas, Indiaco, Farmers insurance by Gorav Gandhi & Pankaj Gandhi, Naturesoft LLC, Rangoli by Rekha and Tinytowne. We are so happy to see our leaders supporting and understanding importance of our culture. We need more leaders like Mr John Bradberry,” said Chittoory.
