Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) celebrated its annual Sankranthi Event in a grand style on January 29, 2012 by hosting variety of events such as Cooking and Rangoli competitions, Telugu karaoke, on-stage game show, dances for patriotic songs, and entertaining fashion show at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple. The one-of-a-kind event featured cooking &rangoli competitions for the second time in BATA events along with fun-filled cultural evening which was attended by over 500 people even though the event was held on a Sunday and with a short notice. This event was exclusively covered by TV9 as part of their co-sponsorship.

The auditorium was beautifully decorated to give an ethnic look of Sankranthi. Everyone was welcomed by the colorful display of a huge “muggu” made from rice with different colors, lentils & flour. The decorations, the stage backdrop coupled with the traditional outfits by the audience, participants & BATA volunteers reflected a festive atmosphere. A unique village display of “bommarillu” was a special attraction.

In order to accommodate multiple activities, the event was kicked off with cooking and rangoli (Muggula Potilu) competition along with Telugu Karaoke simultaneously.

In cooking competitions, there was a section for kids (Little Chef), and the kids prepared the food at the spot. It was exciting to see that over 20 kids demonstrated their cooking skills by preparing delicious food items. The Little Chef, an on-the-spot display of cooking prowess by young kids between 7- 18yrs was amazing. The enthusiasm and excitement shown by the kids and the wide range of food they prepared from pasta, Quesadilla, aloo methi parata, banana wrap, macaroni cheese, sandwich to traditional payasam made it a very difficult decision for the judges.

Super Chef showcased the cooking talents of men & women; there were over 25 people participated. Appetizers, Entrees & desserts presented a sumptuous dinner buffet. With their experience in cooking, the Super Chef participants prepared variety of ‘yummy’ Sankranthi Special Ariselu to Andhra Special Gutti Vankaya, and judges had challenging time to select the best of the best.

In Rangoli competitions, there were over 20 participants displayed their artistry with various colors in just 45 minutes. The finished rangoli was a sight to see and brought nostalgic memories of villages and towns back in India.

Telugu Karaoke was another highlight at the event. Prasad Mangina led the Karaoke segment. There were more than 25 singers including kids & adults. The song selection was a feast to the audience as all of the songs were very popular numbers from Telugu movies. More specifically, songs were mix of both old melodies, and fast beats of current generation. The event venue was totally filled with great enthusiasm and eagerness to listen to song after song. There was a Special Segment on “Amara Gayakulu” Sri. Ghantasala Venkateshwara Rao gari songs. Venu Aasuri spoke briefly on the accomplishments of the legendary singer and why “Ghantasala” garu is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the Indian movie history. Prasad thanked all the singers who participated and made the program a resounding success.

Vijaya Aasuri then officially kicked off the evening cultural program by inviting all the kids for “BhogiPallu” in front of the bommalakoluvu. The congregation of 100 kids & elders with traditional devotional songs by grandparents made it seem like a big family gathering – “VasudhaikaKutumba”. The grandparents and parents gave the blessings to the kids on the occasion of Sankranthi.

The main program for the evening started with “vande maa taram” song in celebration of republic day in which all little kids dressed as Bhagat Singh, Jhansi laxmibhai, Subhash Chandra Bose , Lalbahadursastry, Nehru, Gandhiji, and Bharatmaata. They performed excellent to portray their role as respective Indian legends.

Then came the Sankranthi shobha in which several of artists performed dance celebrating Sankranthi. Aaatadudama (on stage fame show) came next. This fun competition between teams consisting for 6-8 people in each. Kalyan Kattamuri and Vijaya Aasuri anchored this segment by asking quiz questions to the teams. One of the highlights of this competition was that each team required to dance on the stage to the spontaneous songs. With unprepared dance moves and funny steps, this segment generated a lot of laughter and applause. Audience participated equally and they voted in selection process to decide the winning team. The team named ‘six idiots’ emerged victorious eventually.

Another highlight of the evening was “Why marriage tension .. Balaji…” song sung by Kalyan Kattanuri, Srinivas Kolli, Prasad Mangina, Kamesh Malla, and Shiva Kada. This is the variation of original song (“why Kolaveri di”) and the lyrics were written by Kalyan to unfold the difficulties of a married men in a hilarious way. The song received a great appreciation and applause from the audience.

Then came the highlight of the event “Padamati Sandhya Ragam – East meets West” – a mega fashion show reflecting rich Indian traditional culture and the western culture and how they meet and merge. It started off showcasing the grandeur & attires of Indian traditional outfits. Audience was mesmerized to see the different variation of outfits of different culture and fashion show walk on the stage. This extravaganza left the audience spellbound and was received with thunderous applause. The vibrant & colorful costumes, the choreographed walks & the grand finale showcasing everyone mesmerized the audience. Srilu, Sridevi, and Vijaya have choreographed the dances and fashion shows.

There was a huge support for this event from the businesses. Ramesh Konda thanked all the sponsors and recognized their names on the stage. TV9 was co-sponsor, and Remit2India.com and Ravi Tax Services were the Grand Sponsor of the event. Also, Rootshell Enterprise Technologies, Channel Real Estate & Mortgage, Scopus Consulting Group, Precious Dental Care, Swagat Indian Cuisine, Peacock Indian Cuisine, and Athidhi Indian Cuisine sponsored the event. Virijallu, TV9, and Telugu Times were the media partners of the event.

Srinivas Kolli, President of BATA, thanked all the audience for gracing the occasion and making it a big success. He thanked all the participants for coming forward and taking part in the Rangoli and cooking competitions within a short notice. Also, Kolli thanked all the sponsors for their support to the organization through the years.

The prizes for Rangoli (Muggula Potilu), Cooking, and Aaatadudama competitions were sponsored by Shree Jewelers, Dosa Place, Fusion 9, Swara Music Academy, Vaama Collections, Samudhra Sarees, and Nuutana Creations.

BATA committee consisting of Srinivas Kolli (President), Ramesh Konda (Secretary), Kamesh Malla (Treasurer), Kalyan Kattamuri (Joint Secretary), Vijaya Aasuri , Sirisha Battula, Yaswanth Kudaravalli, and Jyotsna Bendapudi. Kolli thanked Veeru Vuppala, Prasad Mangina, and Karun Veligeti and other volunteers for logistical help with the sound system and competitions and karaoke. Also, Kolli thanked all the volunteers who have toiled hard tirelessly in making the event a grand success. BATA volunteers include Ravi, Sridevi, Srilu, Sumanth, Srikar, Jhansi, Kondal, Keerthi, Tanuja, Shiva, Durga, Deepti, Sirisha, Srinivas, Aparna, Chandra, Preeti, etc.

More pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/107119290704551510133/BATASankranthiSambaralu2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJGlmuzjqPzAzAE&feat=directlink