GAINESVILLE, FORT MYERS HOLDING INDIA FESTS ON APRIL 7
GAINESVILLE: The India Cultural & Education Center will hold its annual India Fest & Health Fair on Saturday, April 7, in Gainesville. The health fair will be 9 a.m. to noon and the festival will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Santa Fe Community College, Gymnasium (Building V), 3000 N.W. 83rd St., Gainesville. There will be Indian food, dance, art, music, jewelry, clothing, henna. Admission is $5 per person and children age 5 and under are free.
For information, call (352) 871-7112, visit www.icec-florida.org or e-mail [email protected]
FORT MYERS/ESTERO: The India Association of Fort Myers (IAFM) will hold its 31st annual India Fest on Saturday, April 7, at Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Road, in Estero. The 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. event will feature Indian food, dance, henna, music, handicrafts and clothing. More specifically, there will be live entertainment on the outdoor stage throughout the day, including modern and classical dances, and fashion shows. During the lunch break, a local group will present a yoga demonstration. Attendees will enjoy an unobstructed view of the performances under covered seating.
Entry fee is $5 per person; parking is free. For information, call (732) 861-6250 or e-mail [email protected]
ORLANDO TEMPLE TO HOLD REJUVENATION CEREMONIES APRIL 26-29
The Hindu Society of Central Florida (1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry) will hold Jeernodharana Kumbhabhishekam ceremonies from April 26-29, an event held once in every 12 years to rejuvenate the temple’s sanctity. Since the mandir opened in 2005, it has undergone wear and tear, according to Kumbhabhishekam Committee Chairman Dr. Aravind Pillai. “It is a renovation and repair of the basic temple and its sanctity,” he said. “We are expecting 3,000 to 4,000 people to attend the festivities that weekend.”
In Sanskrit, Jeernodharana means “fixing the broken things.” During the Kumbhabhishekam, the powers of the murtis in the sanctum are temporarily transferred symbolically into the water in kalashams (special containers). “Shilipis (craftsperson) from India have been carrying out work on the temple structures, including the gopuram, repairing the towers,” said Dr. Pillai.
Kumbhabhishekam will be performed on the deities and gopuram from 11:55 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, April 29. “This will reconsecrate the temple,” said Dr. Pillai. “The ceremonies are done for the benefit of the entire community and we are looking for devotees to sponsor of the kalashams, havans, annadan and flowers.”
For information, call Dr. Pillai at (407) 718-8733 or visit www.orlandohindutemple.org
‘MYSTIC INDIA: THE WORLD TOUR’ VISITS BOCA RATON APRIL 21
“Mystic India: The World,” an internationally-acclaimed Broadway-style Bollywood dance spectacular, arrives in on Boca Raton on Saturday, April 21. It is based on the concept of ancient India’s transition into modern India.
Audiences can expect an explosion of colors and energy as they travel on a celebratory journey through Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Gujarat, and even through the progression of Bollywood films via a stunning visual display that fuses dance, theater and spectacular special effects.
More than half a million people have seen “Mystic India: The World Tour” since its conception in 2011 through successful tours in South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Bahrain, China and various U.S. cities. The team of diverse, trained dancers from the AATMA Performing Arts dance company combines authentic Indian and modern techniques, bringing the streets of Mumbai and New York into perfect harmony.
Presented by Woodlands Indian Cuisine, the 8 p.m. show will be at Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium (FAU), 1973-1995 Dade Ave., Boca Raton. Tickets starting at $39 are available at the box office, ticketmaster.com or (984) 377-3080.
‘Sitar Rhapsody with Purbayan Chatterjee’ MAY 5 IN TAMPA
Enjoy “Sitar Rhapsody with Purbayan Chatterjee” on Saturday, May 5, in Tampa. The fine, popular young Indian musician belongs to the famous Senia Maihar Gharana, the school established by musical genius Baba Allauddin Khan, the guru of such stars as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (he also studied with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan) on the sarod and sitar players Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee.
Along with concerts of North Indian raga music, Chatterjee also performs with musicians from the South Indian raga tradition and participates in various fusion projects with jazz and world musicians all over the globe. Chatterjee is also a vocalist and has lent his soulful voice to many compositions.
Chatterjee has designed the DWO, which is a Doppelganger of the Indian Sitar. His DWO celebrates the oneness of two. It creates sound where the acoustic and the digital, the ancient and the modern, the ethnic and the urban, the esoteric and the virtuosic, complement each other and become one.
He was a recipient of the President of India Award for being the Best Instrumentalist of the country at the age of 15. He has received the prestigious Aditya Vikram Birla Award for excellence and contributions to the field.
The 6 p.m. concert at USF Theatre 1, 3839 USF Holly Drive, TAT, is presented by Anil Nirgudkar, whose family has been promoting Indian classical music in Tampa Bay since 1997.
Tickets range from $25 to $50. For information, call (813) 486-9999.
