Mahila Sambaralu
Entertainment mixed with performing arts at TAMA exclusive ladies event

Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta (TAMA) womens secretary Srivalli Sridhar and treasurer Priya Balusu had successfully put together a grand event attracting women from all over Atlanta. Cultural events act as refreshing remedies for humdrum mechanical lives. It takes true talent and effort to make an event that entertain and incorporate social message along with performing arts. Such an example is the event ‘Mahila Sambaraalu - A day of masti exclusively for women’ conducted by TAMA on August 17th.

Mr. Karunakar Reddy Asireddy from Info Smart Technologies Inc sponsored the event that took place at DeSana middle school in Alpharetta. With around 400 women participants, the event kicked off with lighting the lamps by the executive committee women Srivalli Sridhar, Priya Balusu, Shilpa Maddineni, Gowri Karumanchi, Haripriya Doddakka and Neeraja Uppu. The event started with recreational games like indian hopscotch, five stones and dumb charades. The speciality of the event lies in how the organizers not only had planned art performances but also successfully turned audience into participants with such games, which left everyone feel more connected. The event marked performances from various women decked up beautifully in colorful sarees. Everyone actively participated in singing and dancing. The festive fever has touched even the elderly and watching a few elderly women dance was heartening.

An enlightening and educative talk from Dr. Nandini Sunkireddy and Dr. Soumya Reddy regarding weight gain and stress in daily lives was informative. The teachers of Silicon Andhra Manabadi, a Telugu school operated with the help of TAMA, have been felicitated as part of the event. The evening was packed with stellar dance performances from Atlanta women. It opened with group dance from Raj dance academy, Dance Shala for A.R.Rahman medley followed by a mesmerizing classical kuchipudi fusion dance by the students of Neelima Gaddamanugu of Nataraja Natyanjali Kuchipudi Dance Academy.

The highlight of the evening was Aadajanma show, a dance drama depicting the typical life progression of a woman, set to popular tunes of tollywood. The depictions effectively stuck a chord with the women in the audience with beautiful song selection, artful performances and live singing. Afterwards is the Telugu Ammai contest in which many women participated and exhibited skills in various aspects. A fun show of the event is Tollywood Retro Fashion Walk where women dressed up as the actresses from Telugu film industry entertained the audience with their fashion as well as dance. The efforts of the key members of this show Usha Annepu, Preeti Munagapati and Udaya Eturu were evident on the stage.

Winners of various contests through out the evening won prizes sponsored by Suneetha Potnuru and Srikanth Potnuru. The special raffle prize diamond ring was sponsored by KB Zaveri Jewelers in Decatur. Business stalls selling Indian jewelry and clothing attracted many women. The delicious main course for the evening has been sponsored by Sridhar Doddapaneni of Persis Biriyani & Indian Grill. There were snacks for sale from Mayuri Indian Grill. The event ended with a vote of thanks to all the members who made the event possible along with Srini Tillu of Trendy events for the audio, lighting and photography, Sujatha Ponnada of Marigold events for the artful stage and photo booth decoration.