TAGC Celebrated Sankranti And Republic Day in Chicagoland

HI INDIA NEWS DESK
LEMONT, IL- Telugu Association of Greater Chicago (TAGC), the first Telugu association in North America has celebrated the first event of 2023 – Makara Sankranti and Republic Day Celebrations with Chicago land area Telugu families at Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Lemont. TAGC is devoted to the awareness and promotion of Telugu Heritage and Culture in the Midwest region headquartered in Chicago, the association was originally founded in 1971 and recently completed its golden jubilee celebration entering 52nd year.

The event was a grand success with an overwhelming response from the Telugu community with over 900 guests in attendance. The event was conducted on 21st January 2023 from 2:00PM to 8:30PM. President of TAGC 2023 Mr. Parameswara Reddy Yarasani, Mrs. Aruna Sri Yarasani, President Elect, Mr. Santhosh Konduri, Chief Secretary Mr. Ramana Kalva, Cultural Chair Mrs. Sirisha Madduri, Co-chairs Mr. Lakshmi Narayana Thotakura, Mrs. Shilpa Paidimarri, Mrs. Swathi Bandi and other dignitaries started the program with Ganapathi Prarthana and Jyoti Prajwalana. In this program, children explained the uniqueness of Sankranti festival – a symbol of Telugu tradition – and the importance of Republic Day with various dance performances.

All guests are welcomed by TAGC Membership chair Mr. Ramakanth Jonnala, Treasurer Mr. Sridhar Alavala, Jt. Treasurer Mr. Siva Sankar Desu, President Elect Mr. Santosh Konduri, and Past President Venkat Gunuganti.

There were 300 participants categorized into 29 teams as a part of this cultural program. Cultural chair, Mrs. Sirisha Madduri handed participation certificates to all the participants and gifts to team coordinators as well as choreographers on behalf of TAGC. She also thanked cultural co-chairs Mr. Lakshmi Narayana Thotakura, Mrs. Shilpa Paidimarri and Mrs. Swathi Bandi for their dedicated work from the past two months towards making the program a success. TAGC working committee comprising Mrs. Neelima Cheikycharla, Mrs. Prasanna Kandukuri and Mrs. Madhavi Rani Konakalla were thanked for aiding the TAGC cultural team. Mrs. Sirisha Tippireddy entertained everybody by anchoring the event. Prayer song singers Usha Kiranmayi Narayanabhatta and Uma Narayanabhatta were appreciated by everyone and presented with certificates.

The importance of Bhogi Festival was commemorated by blessing 5 year old with Bhogi Pandlu and flowers.

Kids were entertained with various competitions, such as crafting kites with cartoon themes in various age categories divided as 5-10 years and 11-17 years as part of this event. The enthusiasm put forth by kids in displaying their creativity to win prizes. The gifts for the competitions were handed over to the kids by Mrs. Uma Avadhuta and Mrs. Sirisha Aade.

Rangoli, a major part of Sankranti festival brought together all the ladies of TAGC in competitive spirits. The winners were announced and awarded by Mrs. Jyothi Chintalapani and Mrs. Jyothi Madhavaram.
TAGC provided tasty Dinner comprising of authentic Indian dishes such as Ghee arisealu, specifically brought from India, Bisibella bath, curd rice, chapati, Veg pulav, pool makhani, vada and many more. Food chair Mr. Srinivas Kolli along with other board members Mr. Srujan Nainappagari, Mr. Ramana Kalva, Mr. Venu Cherukuri and with the support of volunteers were able to provide dinner for 900 members in an hour time. TAGC thanked Bawarchi Restaurant, Naperville for providing tasty food.
Finally, Vote of Thanks was offered by TAGC President, Mr. Yerasani Parameswara Reddy. He thanked all Sponsors, Participants, Guests, Volunteers, Members and Board members for making the event a huge success. The event was concluded by singing the National Anthem.