Diwali - Festival of Lights
The Leisure World Friends of India Association celebrated a spectacular Indian cultural festival Diwali on Oct. 19 in Clubhouse I Crystal Ballroom. The event featured Dance, Music and Snacks. The two Dance groups were Lasya Kathak Academy and Prajakta School of Kathak. The music performance by Shouvik Mondle.
The program started with a welcome speech by Mr. Gunjan and an address by Ms. Kavita Kapur on LWFIA and Charity Concert.
Kathak Dance: Two groups of Dance academy came to perform Kathak and Garbha dances with their talented performers to give memorable entertainment to the audience. Indian culture was displayed in the Crystal Ballroom spectacularly.
Before each dance program the originator explained the significance of the Dance, its short story, its complicated steps, and its origin. Kathak is one of the major classical dance forms of India, originated in Northern India and rooted in the ancient tradition of traveling storytellers called “kathakars”. Lasya in Kathak is a graceful, gentle, and feminine style of dance that emphasizes tenderness, beauty, and emotional expression—most notably love and devotion.
Garba Dance: Garbha word is derived from the Sanskrit word garbha (meaning "womb"), symbolizing life, birth, and the cyclical nature of the universe.
Music: The second program started with the famous opera singer Shouvik Mondle introduced by Ms. Anasuya Prasad. Shouvik Mondle is an Indian-American operatic performer based in Annapolis, Maryland. He is one of the first Indian-American artists to break into opera and musical theatre. He received Indian classical training under his mother Aditi Mondle and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, followed by Western classical mentorship and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He ended his performance with a famous ghazal, "Mohabbat Karne Wale Kam Na Honge".
His companion Andrew Fowler also gave a spectacular performance. He sang the “Jesus Christ Superstar” song extravagantly. Breath control and dynamic shifts in both of their performances were breathtaking.
Nagendra delivered a Vote of Thanks speech expressing FIA's gratitude, and acknowledged the organizers recognizing the people behind-the-scenes team, volunteers, and sponsors who made the event possible.
The program ended with distributing sumptuous food boxes to participants.