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Nashua NH – The 2007 Spring Festival organized by the Indian Association of New Hampshire was held on May 19. The festival was dedicated to the association’s youth members. Around 450 people attended the event.

Ravi Sakhuja, president of the Indian American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE) and the chief guest, in his address, stressed the need for involvement of youth in the community. Sakhuja also praised the association for providing a forum for its members through its various community service activities.

The cultural events, which numbered more than 30, were of a wide variety and the performers ranged in age from 5 to 25. Performances included group and solo dances, a tap dance, instrumental pieces and several songs. Among the performers were students from the Southern New Hampshire University. Jasmine Shah, Sheethal Dwaraka, Neha Parikh and Sujatha Meyyappan, choreographed many of the events.

3-year old Karishma Manchanda sang the song “Awara Bhawarein” and regaled the audience.There were solo dance performances to the Bollywood songs by Tejas Shroff and Avvinash Radhakrishnan. The program also saw classical songs by students of Sandhya Sridhar

Anirudh Dwarakanath performed a vocal recital of Yajur Vedam while Sheethal Dwaraka choreographed and performed the Mohini Attam dance.

The festival also included the award ceremony for the winners at the Education Bee contests organized by the association earlier in March. In addition, the association awarded certificates to 33 youth volunteers who participated in the association’s community service activities while keeping up with their academic duties.

The association’s youth volunteer’s managed the entire planning and organization of the event, from stage and sound management to crowd control. The association’s cultural committee chairperson Usha Dwarakanath coordinated the event.

Gurnam Catering Service of Merrimack and Food and Fashion of India of Nashua provided food and snacks for the event while Shazia’s Dress Shoppe managed a kiosk to sell dresses and ornaments. Neha Parikh had a kiosk selling crafts, gift items and clothing.