By NITISH S. RELE - [email protected]

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CHITRAM ROCKS TAMPA BAY 

More than 800 people in the auditorium were swept to their feet in a standing ovation at the conclusion of a spectacular performance of �Chitram � A Portrait of India� at the India Cultural Center Nov 14. The performance was presented by the Hindu Temple of Tampa as a fundraiser for the upcoming Vidyalaya and prasada sadan.

�Chitram is different from other concerts,� said Dr. Manjul Derasari, coordinator for fundraising. �This was a special experience where composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran of Cincinnati, Ohio, visited Tampa several times to build a team, train and mentor a team of about 100 participants.�

Indeed, the first rehearsal began in May with the identification of about 30 singers who would sing in choir; the choir constituted the backbone of the production.

This is the fourth community in the United States where visionary composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran has built a community choir. �Every trip was worth it,� says Kannikeswaran, whose productions build community around music through a celebration of threads of commonality across cultures.

Paramjit Singh and his wife, Binder, both committed singers in the choir were moved by the music and content of the production, particularly the narrative which told the story of Indian culture, stressing the aspects of pluralism and inclusiveness.

�It was a dream come true for me,� said Dr. Chitra Ravindra, president of the Hindu Temple. �I have always wanted to bring the community together through music, and this production did so in a spectacular way.�

�Nov. 14 was one of the best moments in my life,� said Ketaki Swain, one of the choir singers. Chitram featured about 35 singers and nearly 65 dancers and yoga performers from the Tampa community. A team of dancers from USF who participated in Chitram were euphoric. �Eight hundred plus people in the audience watching the program with undivided attention took the performance to new heights,� said Mekhala Sastri, a senior at USF.

 �The community took ownership of the project in a big way. This is the fourth city in which Chitram is staged. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the Tampa Bay community and to stage Chitram here,� said Kannikeswaran, who is working on bringing his magnum opus �Shanti � A Journey of Peace,� to life in Houston with a group of 90 singers from the Indian community in partnership with the United Nations choir. His work �Vismaya � An Indo Celtic Musical Journey,� that explores connections between colonial music and classical composers is beginning to make an impact in Indian music circles.

The Heart Institute at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point celebrated its 20^th anniversary with an open house to the public on Nov. 6. Rao Musunuru, M.D., predicted at the ribbon-cutting ceremony 20 years ago that within 10 years, the Heart Institute will become top in the nation. It was indeed recognized, nine years after it opened, as one of the top 50 hospitals in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News and World Report. 

Since then, many national awards, accolades, and accreditations followed. Dr. Musunuru, a 2005 American Heart Association�s National Physician of the Year, promised the public on Nov. 6, bigger and better things to come in the next decade, to benefit the residents of Pasco, Hernando and neighboring counties.

 

	Dr. Rao Musunuru addressing the public at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Heart Institute on Nov. 6.

 

	Dr. Rao Musunuru cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Heart Institute 20 years ago.

 

 

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TAMPA�S 1^ST INDIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO BE HELD JAN. 22-24

                                                Story provided by INDO-US Chamber

NEARLY 11,000 ATTEND TAMPA INDIA FESTIVAL