GATeS showcases Telangana culture and heritage on state’s 5th Formation Day celebrations
(Photos: Vakiti Creations)
GATeS (Greater Atlanta Telangana Society) celebrated the fifth anniversary of the formation of Telangana state with enthusiasm and festival fervor. Attendees, young and old, lined up early in the evening at the Forsyth Conference Center at Lanier Technical College, Cumming, Georgia on Sunday, June 23, 2019. The grand celebration showcased the Telugu language, literature, folk songs, village dances, culture, and heritage, lasting till midnight for an audience of 2,000.
Several local and state officials joined the celebrations including Todd Jones, GA State Representative; Dennis Brown, Forsyth County Commissioner; Kevin McDonough, Chairman Forsyth and Cumming Chamber of Commerce; Vivian Vakili, Economic Development Director; and James McCoy, CEO & President of Cumming, Forsyth Chamber of Commerce.
GATeS Board Chairman Anil Boddireddy and President Thirumal Reddy Pitta with their teams led this extraordinary celebration with performances depicting the rich cultural heritage of Telangana. This year’s theme showcased traditional dances from the Telangana region that are fast disappearing. To support and create new interest in these ancient art forms, the program featured a mix of local artistes and professional dancers from India.
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Telangana Burrakatha, a theatrical form of storytelling popular in Telugu states. |
The dance of warriors. |
The evening began on a traditional note, with the lighting of a lamp by GATeS Board Members. A cultural extravaganza followed, including a variety of dances, vocal, and fusion music performances, with Burrakatha, a traditional form of storytelling, being used to narrate each performance. Natya Roopakam, a dance drama presented by Shiv Institute of Dance Academy showed the valor and sacrifice made by people during India’s independence struggle; it received a lot of applause from the audience.
The event successfully brought together both Telugu regional and national community leaders, all of whom pledged their support in the service of the Telugu community in the U.S. GATeS recognized the efforts of several community leaders and felicitated them.
The closing ceremony featured a brilliant performance by the band Dappu that kept the audience spellbound. The evening concluded with a video address by Erraballi Dayakar Rao, Minister (Panchayati Raj) of Telangana State.
(GATeS was founded in 2006 and nurtured by the well-known community leader, the late G. S. Reddy. Today, GATeS is a 1000-strong group, dedicated to fostering the community spirit among Telengana families in Atlanta and promoting Telengana’s rich culture.)
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(Left) GATeS officers and VIP guests.
Website Bonus Feature
Photo Gallery:
https://www.vakiti.com/GATES/2019/GATES-Telangana-Formation-day/
Video:
"GATeS Cultural and Formation day celebrations 2019"
By anil reddy
Published on Jun 30, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CISCDad0_g&feature=youtu.be
More highlights of the event: a Gananayaka dance by the students of Pushyami Lanka, followed by Telangana songs by Srikanth Lanka from Dallas, Texas; EDM Alarippu Fusion presented Indian Raaga (Rani Gopireddy). The anchor (Kathakudu) was Mimicry Ramesh and was supported by Niranjan Podduturi and Srini Shanagarapu; Rani Rudramadevi, a dance drama narrating the story of the monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty in the Deccan Plateau with capital at Warangal and Perini Thandavam, a dance performed by males (it is believed that in ancient times this was performed before the soldiers set off to war) were presented by Neelima Gaddamanugu, Natarajan Natyanjali Kuchipudi Academy; Gussadi and Lambadi dance, bathukamma, and tribal dances from the Telangana region were presented by artists trained by Harini, Hema Shilpam and Shruti; also showcased were Telangana festivals of Bonalu dance presented by Neelima Gaddamanugu, Natarajan Natyanjali Kuchipudi Academy.
Recognitions: The GATeS team recognized and felicitated several community leaders including Bhuvanesh Bujala Garu of ATA; Ramakrisha Reddy Ala, ATA BOT; Anjaiah Chowdhary Lavu of TANA; Bala Indurti of NATA; Bharath Maddi of TATA; Dr. Srini Gangasani, Convener, 2019 Atlanta AAPI Convention; Ravi R. Ponangi, Atlanta correspondent of India Tribune; Sunil Savili and Srinivas Peddi of IFA; Dr. Satyanarayana Reddy of GATA; Venky Gadde and Vinay Maddineni of TAMA; Ravi Kandimalla of GATeS; Kiran Pasham of ATA; Bapureddy of TDF. Past Presidents, Chairmen, and Officers of GATeS were also recognized: Srijan Joginapally, Venkat Veeraneni, Viju Chiluveru, Narendar Reddy, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Ranjit Ganta, Prashanti Asireddy, Mahesh Nilagiri, Ratan Eluganti, Prabhakar Boyapally, Nanda Chatla, and Ravi Chandar. GATeS also recognized Mrs. Sulochana Reddy garu, wife of late G. S. Reddy, founder of GATes.
Telangana Formation Day is celebrated back in India on the formation of Telangana State on 2nd June every year since 2014. Telangana is the 29th state in India. It is the twelfth largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of 112,077 km2 (43,273 sq. mi) and 35,193,978 residents as per 2011 census. On 2 June 2014, Telangana was separated from combined state of Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed 29th state with Hyderabad as its capital.
GATeS also celebrates Telangana Cultural Day, Bathukamma, and Vanabhojanalu.
Thanks:
GATeS Advisory Board: Karun Asireddy, Goutham Goli, Prabhakar Boyapally, Sridhar Jullapally, and Sathish Cheti.
Sponsors: IST, SplashBI, RapidIT, CaridoVascular Group, Suvidha, Ecovue, Dr, Venkat Veeraneni, Dr. Satish Cheti, Softpath, Reddy CPA, Aperio technologies, Orpine, Shekhar Realty, Rahull Chikyala, Srinivas Vuduta, Umesh Muthyala, Sridhar Kanchanakuntla.
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