Anand Mela: A Joyful Gathering
Enjoy
Asian Indian traditional poetry, dance, music, food, crafts and more. Anand Mela
includes a diverse range of hands-on activities (rangoli, mehandhi
[henna], kite making), performances (traditional singing, poetry, folk dance,
Bharatanatyam [classical dance]), cultural displays and a food demonstration
during this two-hour program.
Availability: weekday evenings and weekend days and evenings
Fees to Artists (plus travel): $1,600
Participants: 6 plus representatives from dance group
Bios of Key Participants:
Anand
Mela is coordinated by Pramod Sarin of Waterloo and Pramod Mahajan of Urbandale.
An Iowa Arts Council board member, Mrs. Sarin came to Waterloo with her family
in the 1960s. She and several women started teaching their daughters traditional
Indian folk dances when their children were young. Her daughter, Shelly Sarin
of Iowa City, has taken over that function and now directs the Northeast Iowa
Folk Dancers of India, which performs at functions all over the state, including
the 2001 Festival of Iowa Folklife and the 2004 Midwest Folk Fest. Sarin and her
family have also been active in Asian Indian exhibits and events at the Waterloo
Center for the Arts.
In 1992, Pramod and Prachi Mahajan and their two children came to Des Moines, where they have been active members of the central Iowa Asian Indian community. Once the president of the Indo-American Association in Iowa, Pramod Mahajan has worked hard to preserve his community's cultural traditions, particularly Bharud poetry. Prachi Mahajan is an excellent Asian Indian cook and is especially known for adapting traditional recipes to local Iowa ingredients.
