SAVE THESE DATES!

Here are some important dates you want to note down on your calendar for later in the year.

TAMPA BAY AREA

INDIA FESTIVAL NOV. 23

Organized by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, the daylong 31st India Festival will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. 301 N. More than 12,000 people are
expected to attend. As always, booths will offer clothes, jewelry, arts and crafts, photo studio and home décor/furniture and more. There also will be numerous eateries selling delicacies such as samosas, bhel puri, chicken curry and dosas.

In the entertainment area, performers will be adorned in colorful attire for categories of dance competition in various age groups – garba, raas, folk and bhangra. Several closed-circuit TV monitors will be set up so people can shop and eat while watching the dances.

This year’s India Fest chair is Nikunj Patel and can be reached at (727) 804-4513. For information, visit www.indiafestivaltampabay.com

ORLANDO/MAITLAND

‘BEYOND BOLLYWOOD: SOUTH ASIAN FILM FEST’ OCT. 5-7

“Beyond Bollywood: The 30th Annual South Asian Film Festival” will be held Oct. 5-7 at Enzian Theater in Maitland/Orlando. The event showcases diverse images of South Asian (India/Pakistan/Bangladesh) culture and heritage through acclaimed independent films from across the globe. Part of Enzian Theater’s cultural festival circuit, it is co-presented with the Asian Cultural Association.

Enzian Theater is at 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland. For a list of films, tickets and other details, visit www.enzian.org close to event date.

SOUTH FLORIDA (FORT LAUDERDALE)

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS NOV. 16 IN FORT LAUDERDALE

All roads lead to the Broward County Convention Center as the Indian Regional and Cultural Center (IRCC) celebrates the 12th Diwali Festival of Lights, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. The event, ideal for all ages with performances that include Bollywood/folk dances, showcases Indian clothing, jewelry, dance, music, art and cuisine. Rangoli competitions are also planned.

Broward County Convention Center is at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. For tickets and information, including sponsorship opportunities, vendor booths, donations and volunteering, visit https://irccflorida.org/

Disclaimer: Event details are subject to change; please check with local organizers.

FLORIDA’S BRUHAT SOMA WINS 2024 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE

For a consecutive year, a Tampa Bay boy has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Bruhat Soma, 12, took the honor May 30 in the competition’s ending spell-off. It came down to “Abseil” (meaning descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above), 29 of 30 words that the 12-year-old spelt correctly before he was awarded the championship title.

He became the third Florida winner after Dev Shah in 2023 and Nupur Lala in 1999, all Bay area residents. The seventh-grader previously competed in two national spelling bees. “Actually, this past year, I studied really hard. I gave it my best, practiced spell-offs, which is how I ultimately won,” says Bruhat in an exclusive interview with Khaas Baat.
The competition began with 245 contenders who earned their spots by advancing through regional spelling bees. They represented all the 50 states. The challengers then whittled down to 10 in the finals. Bruhat takes home $50,000 in cash and a commemorative medal. What does he plan to do with the prize? “Donate it,” he says. “There are many people who need it more than I do.”

His father, Srinivas Soma, an IT professional at Verizon, recalled that when Bruhat was 6 years old, he joined the traditional sloka program of Jet USA (jetusa.org). “They are volunteers in Tampa, teaching slokas,” he says. “His teachers told us that Bruhat has good memory, and he can quickly remember. That kind of helped with all the pronunciations. He knows 80 percent of the Bhagwad Gita.”

Bruhat has taken part in numerous academic competitions, including the North South Foundation (www.northsouth.org), “I was 7 years old when I did my first spelling bee for NSF,” he recalls. “Then I was in second grade and came in 8th. From there, I learned about the Web site spellpundit.com, which showed me what spelling bees are like.” Plans for the future? “I want to be a doctor. Don’t know what kind yet,” he says.

A student at Turner/Bartels K-8 School where he plays in a band, Bruhat’s hobbies include playing basketball, other sports, reading, writing and watching TV. He has two sisters, and his mother Jyoti works at Citibank.

His advice to other kids? “If you have a goal, then work for it and you will be successful. And if not, set another goal and try harder.”

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

KHAASBAAT.COM WEB SITE, EBLASTS, SPONSORSHIP AND MORE!

By NITISH S. RELE and SHEPHALI J. RELE

In this digital age, it bears no repetition that newspapers are a dying breed. A report by Northwestern University reveals that two newspapers are folded every week. As we steadily march toward our 20-year anniversary (printing monthly since August 2004 without skipping an issue), here are some thoughts for our readers.

Since the onset of Covid, Khaas Baat has been available in its entirety in PDF format at khaasbaat.com for everyone, free of charge. If you would like to receive our weekly emails, let us know at [email protected] And if you want home/office delivery, please fill out the subscription form on page two. Despite rising printing and mailing costs, we will continue to publish Khaas Baat. But we will need sponsors and your support moving forward to make that happen. Checks can be addressed to Khaas Baat, 8312 Windsor Bluff Drive, Tampa, FL 33647. Payment can also be made via PayPal to PP ID:[email protected]

As activities are under way, we request community leaders and organizers to email event details to [email protected] by the 20th of the month for the following month’s issue. We always welcome your story ideas and suggestions on how we can best serve our community. Khaas Baat is proud to be the ONE AND ONLY Sunshine State publication to offer comprehensive coverage of news and happenings in your Florida Indian community. Do follow us on twitter @khaasbaat and join us on Facebook.