As the sun began to set on the evening of 23rd March in Silicon Valley, California, the Telanganites of Silicon Valley or San Francisco Bay area gathered at India Community Center, Milpitas to celebrate the dawn of India’s newest and 29th state, Telangana.
More than 500 people gathered to attend the Telangana Daawath event, the venue was filled to its fullest capacity. Young and old, professionals and businessmen, men and women gathered on this occasion to meet, greet, and share the joy. The demand for tickets was so huge that all tickets were sold out in a day.
For many, Telangana was an aspiration for a better future, for some others it was a lifelong dream of self governance. The passage of the bill in Rajya Sabha and subsequent signing of it by the President of India culminated sixty years of aspirations, dreams, and struggle. And it was the occasion to celebrate the fulfillment of the dream. Among the NRI communities, Bay Area Telanganites were foremost in their support for the Telangana cause, highlighting the issue and spreading awareness in the Indian immigrant communities. Over the years these energetic technocrats organized many events, rallies to support the cause, bringing it to the attention of the visiting political leaders and policy makers from India.
Many prominent local leaders of the community and elected officials graced the occasion, including mayor of Cupertino Gilbert Wong, Councilmember City of San Jose, Ash Kalra, Consul, Consulate General of India, San Francisco T Baskaran, and Former under Secretary of Commerce under President Barak Obama, and current candidate for Congress from California District 17, Mr Ro Khanna. They took the opportunity to wish and congratulate the NRIs from Telangana. They praised Telangana technocrats for their hard work and contribution towards Silicon Valley economy and supporting innovation. Mayor of Cupertino, Gilbert Wong took the opportunity to present “Certificate of Appreciation” to the Bay area Telangana community for making positive difference by providing the local community with events that promote rich Indian culture and values. Prem Madderla, a volunteer for the Telangana Daawath event received the certificate on behalf of the Bay area Telangana community.
The event started with a slide show depicting the history of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 2014, and the consistent struggle for de-merger and to stop exploitation, notwithstanding loss of lives and livelihood for thousands of families. And the sequence of events that lead to formation of the new state. For the benefit of the younger audience the presentation also included images of Telangana’s historical and cultural landmarks, temples and tourist places like Charminar, Bhadrachalam Temple, Thousand Pillar Temple from Kakatiya Dynasty, Kuntala Falls.
As the evening progressed, the gathered crowds at the event enjoyed cultural events performed by young generation of Telangana NRIs. The activities included traditional dances, devotional songs, classical medleys, folk dances, kids fashion parade and a live DJ. The highlight of the evening was the Golla Mallamma dance performance which pulsated energy through the audience and was received with thunderous applause. Folk songs sung by Prasad Vatukuru and team were well appreciated. Hosts of the evening celebrations Sujender Produturi and Deepti Kommareddy held the attention of the audience with their wit and humor.
Video messages for the event from Telangana JAC Chairman Prof. Muddasani Kodanda Ram, Dr. Rama Melkote, Andhra Pradesh state BJP President Kishen Reddy, and TRS MLA Harish Rao was played to the audience.
Several Bay area Telangana volunteers including organizations like Telangana Cultural Association & Telangana Development Forum supported the event.
The event wouldn’t have been a grand success without the contribution of the following volunteers.
Prem Madderla, Srinath Muskula, Bhaskar Maddi, Jagan Bearelly, Raju Yasala, Vijay Chavva, Srikanth Challappa, Bhavani Srinivas, Srinivas Ponnala, Ashok Reddy Reddy, Rajesh Vattipelli, Yugandhar Reddy, Chetan Muddasani, Santosh Addagulla, Prasad Gattu, Srinivas Manikonda, Bhiksham Palabindela, Poornachander Byri, Sujender Produturi, Deepthi Ravula, Sreeramana Kommareddy, Sridhar Borra, Srikanth Surakanti, Chandra Ananthuni, Revanth Raj, Madhu Salvaji, Srikala Produturi, Sridevi, Jyothi Chigulapalli, and Premlatha Kodela.