Shirish Paranjape
Christchurch, April 13, 2019
The Telugu-speaking community in Christchurch celebrated Ugadi with great fervour and tradition on Saturday April 6, 2019.
The free, family-friendly event was organised by the Telugu Association of South Island (TASI) There were several performances showcasing local talent, including Bharata Natyam dances, electronics keyboard and a self-composed poem recited in Telugu.
Talent recognised
Two young students from the local Telugu community were recognised and presented with certificates. Keerthana and Apoorva have both excelled not only in academics but also in extra-curricular activities. As their achievements were read out by the comperes, they provided inspiration to many others in the hall.
Towards the end of the evening, formal stage performances gave way to informal ‘Antakshari’ competition in which the audience competed.
A sumptuous vegetarian dinner was sponsored by Curry Crush, a local business.
There was a lot of mixing-mingling and chatter as everyone enjoyed the delicious dinner.
Rajeswar Peddisetti, Secretary of TASI said that the cost of the event was supported by donors and Association members’ annual fees.
“We were therefore able to provide free entry to people so that we could have a cross-section of the community,” he said.
Shirish Paranjape is our Correspondent based in Christchurch.
