Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio
Annual Children's Day
Parma Snow Library
December 22, 2024

Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio (AAIWO) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization for Asian Indian women promoting professional development and education through scholarships and cultural outreach programs. Their aim is to foster and support women for personal and professional advancement while providing volunteer opportunities. AAIWO promotes culture and education while establishing productive social networks for women. AAIWO sponsors multi-cultural activities to promote cultural understanding in their community.

On December 22, 2024 they hosted their Annual Children's Day. The program started at 1 pm with Drawing competitions for primary, middle, and high school kids. Later at 2.00 PM middle school and high school kids took a science quiz. 2.30 Public speaking competition was conducted for primary, middle, and high school students. Essay competition was done before and the results were announced.

Middle School Drawing Winners

1. Shrestha Shastry
2. Yashavardha
3. Anika Rao

1. Saanchi Bahl
2. Tharunika P
3. Saanvi Niranjan

• Dr.Gopal Nadkarni
• Dr.Naveen Uli
• Mr. Shashi Yadavalli
• Mrs.Ela Kulkarni
• Mrs. Brinda Rao

Essay Winners High School

1. Aashritha Niranjan
2. Sushanth Adiga

1. Laya Viswanath
2. Shrestha Shastry
3. Anvi Panchal

1. Aarya More
2. Sushanth Adiga

1. Nakul Patil
2. Yashvardha

1. Sanchi Bahl

1. Shrividya Regadamilli
2. Sushanth Adiga

1. Kshitij Ravikumara
2. Shrestha Shastry
3. AAroh More

Deepa Rao current president of AAIWO and Ruby Bahl Vice President of AAIWO were the MCs for the afternoon. After the competitions started the cultural program with Invocation by Anika Rao - Anika Rao is a student of Mrs. Kanchi Ramanujan, and she has been learning Carnatic music since the age of 4. She has completed Level 1 Carnatic Music Exams and is preparing for Level 1 Bharatanatyam Exams. Today she is presenting Gajavadhana Bheduve.

After that Guru Mrs. Sudha Totapally presented a workshop on Indian Dance forms Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam. She illustrated with her 2 students performing and showing the differences. Mrs. Sudha Kiranmayi Totapally is a classical dancer, teacher, and Choreographer of Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, two Indian classical dance forms. She started learning these dance forms at the very tender age of 4 and since then constantly looked for an opportunity to improve her skills and work on creative choreography at every given chance. She earned her master's degree from world-renowned, Central University, Hyderabad, South India, in Performing Arts and Communication with Kuchipudi dance form as a major. Later trained under many renowned prestigious legendary Gurus. She has been recognized by many associations for her dedication towards these art forms like Annamayya Aradhana festival committee, Vindhya Cultural Association, Cleveland Asia Festival organization, etc... Her primary goal has always been promoting and propagating Indian classical dance forms by teaching to younger generations.

Nartanam Dance Academy, founded by Sudha Totapally is the place for young and old students to discover their love for the arts, hone their talent, and evolve into graceful, creative dancers. Nartanam Dance Academy works to edify Asian Indian classical dance styles Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam along with Grace, Discipline, Posture, Art, and Rhythm, bringing balance to all interested and dedicated personnel. Nartanam Dance Academy (NDA) now has become one of the leading Indian Classical Dance Academies in and around Ohio. Students of NDA have the honor of performing and being recognized in many prestigious Festivals, events, and competitions like the Cleveland Cavaliers pregame and Halftime Show, The Cleveland Art's Museum, Playhouse Square- DANCE Cleveland, Cleveland Asia festival, Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana festival, etc... Sudha believes that Dance is the language of the soul, expressing the depth of human emotions.

Soon after the workshop or dance demonstrations we had dance performances by NDA students. *Kuchipudi students* Tanvi Yerroju Yashwitha Bodepudi Riya Lakireddy. *Bharatnatyam students* Sanhitha Pillarisetti Pranhitha Pillarisetti Swarika. Totapally Sanika Vemireddy Lakshanyaa Ramjee Sriyani Tallpareddy.

Next was Bhangra performance from one and only famous Jain Twins Mayher and Neev. Bhangra: A traditional folk dance from the Punjab region of India that is performed during the harvest season. It is often associated with the Vaisakhi festival, which takes place in the spring between April and May. Introduction- Neev & Mayher Jain are 10-year-old twins. They love Bollywood & Punjabi music, enjoy Bhangra dancing, and have embraced it to stay close to their Indian and Punjabi roots. They have prepared a special performance and sincerely hope you all enjoy this performance.

Next is the Kuchipudi Performance by Students of Guru Kalyani Veturi. Kalyani Veturi is the founder and arts director of Sree Mayuri Dance Academy, a premier institute dedicated to forwarding Kuchipudi dance's legacy within the United States. Kalyani's journey with Kuchipudi spans almost three decades. After performing extensively in India, she continues to explore and develop her relationship with Kuchipudi in the United States, where she has established herself as an eminent choreographer, performer, and teacher. She approaches Kuchipudi dance as multifaceted; combining music, rhythm, and expression to convey essential messages and elicit emotional connections with audiences. As an artist, she endeavors to dedicate her life to sharing this beautiful form with future generations and inculcating an appreciation of the rich culture of Indian classical dance with surrounding communities. Sree Mayuri Academy strives to share the traditional heritage of Indian Classical Dance Kuchipudi with surrounding communities while allowing room for experimentation with contemporary themes and traditional kinetics to enhance the experience of presenting and understanding the legacy of art. In the process of spreading the rich culture of traditional Indian dance Kalyani and her students have participated in and performed for various community events, fundraising events, and festivals across Cleveland. The items are

1. Vinayaka Koutvam- Kauthuvam means a classical dance composition that is a hymn of devotion and praise to a deity. In this particular dance piece, dancers describe the Prathama Gana Ganapathi as dancing Ganesha. In Tandava Nritya Kari Gajanana, the mighty Lord Ganesha is invoked. The lore surrounding the movements of the celestial being, and his impressive power, are explored in this song. Ragam: Mohana Talam : Aadi Dance Style : Kuchipudi Performers: Priya Pasumarthy, Manasvini Chettibhaktuni Aishani BalijaGudem Shamita Kolluru.

2. English Note by Jayashree Rajeev Popular Carnatic English Note choreographed in Kuchipudi dance Style.Its a blend of western jazz style (ballroom)music with7 notes of Carnatic music Sa,Ri, ga , ma, pa, da, ni. Choreographed by Smt. Kalyani Veturi. Performers: Kundana Devarakonda, Ruhika Akkineni, Vynavi Madhukar.

The last performance is from Kasturi Kannada Sangha Kids who are paying tribute to famous personalities of Karnataka. Saanvi Niranjan -Rani Chennamma Adrith Hindupur-Krishnadevaraya Anika Rao - Triveni Kshitij Guddiankoppa Ravikumara - Dr. Rajkumar Shreshta Shastry- Sudha Murthy. Samhitha Adiga -Nirupama Rajendra Nakul Patil- Sir M Vishveshwaraiah.

Awards Ceremony

Dr.Chaya Swamy AAIWO Service Award 2024

AAIWO is felicitating and honoring our AAIWO member Dr. Chaya Swamy for her services to AAIWO over the past several decades this Children's Day. She says she was inspired by AAIWO's founding member Mrs. Manju Rastogi and the whole team of AAIWO founding members. AAIWO was founded in 1989. The first Board Members of this organization were Usha Ahuja, Nilli Sawhney, Vimala Shekar, Veena Bhupali, Rita Singh, Susan Karimpil, Uma Ganesan, Manju Rastogi, Vandana Marwaha, Mona Alag, and Nisha Jain. She also shares that she loves to work with a team of Women who give, educate, encourage, and put others first. She also gets inspiration from Jayashree Bidari, who has served AAIWO for several decades. Dr. Chaya Swamy is a retired physician, and her goal is to see her pure self in everyone. "Happiness is an adaptation to change" As change is constant so also be happiness. She loves to compose songs and is in the process of writing a children's book.

AAIWO Student Award 2024 - Miss Shreya Bangalore

Shreya Bangalore is a senior at Westlake High School, graduating in May 2025. She plans to study Biology on a pre-dental track. Shreya is an AP Scholar with Distinction and has earned gold and silver medals in Spanish. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society. Shreya is also a cellist, currently playing second chair in her school's Chamber Orchestra and participating in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (CYO). She served as an officer of the Pre-Med Society last year and held a leadership role in the South Asians for Justice and Equity (SAJE) Program. Shreya has volunteered at the Cleveland Clinic, the Village Project (where she helped make meals for cancer patients), the Cleveland Color Walk, and Siksha Daan (a tutoring program). She was awarded the 2024 FICA Student Achievement Award and is the valedictorian of her class. Congratulations Shreya!!!

AAIWO Volunteer of the Year Award 2024 - Miss Anika Rao

Anika Rao is a 6th grader. She has helped compile the Science Quiz for AAIWO and categorize the participants. She also volunteers for the FICA Essay Workshop. She is a youth editor for The Lotus - A FICA New Paper. She is in the LEAD Club and Girls STEM Club at her school. She has won several awards in PTA reflections and talent shows. She has participated in many organizations in and around the Cleveland area, such as Cleveland Cultural Gardens-OWD, AAIWO, India Fest, Asian Festival, NEOMM, FICA, and KKS. She is an avid reader and is learning Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music. She is also a student of Kasturi Kannada Shaale (School).

Ruby Bahl did vote of Thanks. The judges of the competitions (Drawing and Public Speaking were Dr.Chaya Swamy and Jaya Bidari AAIWO BOD. All the participants and the winners were awarded trophies and certificates.

Article by Deepa Rao

Mahesh Desai and Yogini Desai from Krishna Video & Photography covered the video and photos for the event. Enjoy these images below.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---