FLORIDA NEWS
36th ANNUAL TAMPA INDIA FESTIVAL NOV. 1
The 36th annual India Festival, organized by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, will be held Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Annually, about 8,000 to 10,000 people attend the daylong event. The festival has become one of the biggest and largest in the Southeast in the last three plus decades. This year’s chair is Ajit Shah.
In the Entertainment Hall, performers of all ages will be decked out in traditional attire for four categories of dance competition – garba, raas, folk, classical and bhangra. Throughout the hall, several closed-circuit TV monitors will be set up. Several booths will offer a variety of fashion, jewelry, arts and crafts, and home décor. Just outside the hall, food vendors will offer a variety of Indian delicacies from samosas to chicken tikka to dose and of course everyone’s favorite chai.
Indian-American communities from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Ocala among others will be participating in dozens of competitions.
India Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. 301 N., Tampa. Tickets are $15 for adults; $13 for children 5 to 12 years. Kids under 5 are free. Parking is $10. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit https://www.indiafestivaltampabay.com/
HSS HOLDS HINDU UNITY DAY. 1
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) hosted the first-ever Hindu Sangathan Divas on Aug. 31 at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, Loyadham, in Valrico, uniting 19 dharmic organizations including Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh groups. Themed around Hindu Awareness, the event featured temples, cultural groups like Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Hindu American Foundation, Sewa International and unique voices such as True Dharma International and International Accreditation Council For Degree Granting Schools & Colleges (IACDSC). Leaders emphasized unity, political engagement and support for youth facing bullying and misrepresentation. Pujya Rushi Swamiji encouraged unity starting with family practices like shared meals and devotional singing. Attendees also viewed a trailer for “The Caste Rush,” which counters negative caste narratives. Breakout discussions addressed attacks on temples, school bullying and efforts to make Diwali a school holiday.
For information or to become involved, call Nainan Desai at (813) 245-8417 or email [email protected]
KHAAS BAAT LAUNCHES ANNUAL SPONSOR DRIVE
By NITISH S. RELE and SHEPHALI J. RELE
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After completing our 21-year anniversary last month, we launched an annual sponsor drive to secure funds to cover production costs. Since its inception, Khaas Baat has been mailed free to subscribers around the state with only a handful of paid subscribers in the past few years. We are proud that during the pandemic we continued publishing regularly. In fact, we haven’t skipped an issue since we began printing in August 2004. Also, the entire print version of the newspaper can be found online. Since ad revenues alone do not cover our monthly production costs (printing, design, mailing), we are in need of corporate or private sponsors. Your backing will allow us to continue to publish Khaas Baat as a high-quality newspaper proudly serving our community.
Please send your contribution via Zelle to (813) 758-1786 or you can PayPal ID to: [email protected] You may also send a check addressed to KHAAS BAAT and mailed to KHAAS BAAT, 8312 WINDSOR BLUFF DRIVE, TAMPA, FL 33647.
With our festival season under way, we request community leaders and organizers to email event details to [email protected] by the 20th of the month to be included in the following month’s issue. We always welcome your story ideas and suggestions to best serve our community.
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