Event Sponsors: Prudential Financial
We are pleased to announce that the "Sarvadhaari Ugadi Vedukalu" will be held on Saturday May 10, 2008 at the Nease High school PAC in St.Johns county
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Volleyball and cricket matches are currently underway and more will be announced shortly. Check out our website for updates.
We are now accepting enrollments for Cultural events from members. Email us your enrollment or call our cultural coordinator Aruna Chalam at 519-2949 by Feb 24.
Here are the some ground rules for the Cultural participants:
- No solo movie songs. We are doing this to bring more people on stage in the short period.
- No participant can participate in more than one show/item. However, participants who are doing classical solo dance or Telugu Badi Skit are excemted from this restriction.
- All participants (or their parents) must enroll in TAJA 2008-09 membership
- The choreographer/coordinator for the cultural item/show has to give contact name, phone number, email, item brief description, name of song(if song item), number of participants etc. by Feb 24.
All members are requested to renew their membership for the Sarvadhaari (2008-09) year by paying membership fee of $40/family or $20/single. This will give FREE admission to the Sarvadhaari Ugadi event. Donation per Guest $15 & per Parent is $10. Email us or call 63-TAZAA (638 2922) or contact any TAJA committee member for details.
Last day to enroll in Sports tournament is Sunday Feb 3 and the first games start on Saturday Feb 9.
| Sarvadhaari Ugadi Vedukalu | 10 May 2008 | Nease High School, St. Johns County |
Event Sponsors: Prudential Financial and Rainbow Pediatric Center
Once again, we have had a well received event inspite of the weather and inspite of the next day being the start of the work-week. Thank you all for coming out in great numbers to celbrate the spirit of the Telugu culture. Here is a synopsis of what transpired over those few hours of cultural bonhomie...
Of-late, gloomy, unfriendly weather forecasts have become a norm with almost all TAJA events and the Sankraanthi event was no different. The dreary day started off with rain and breeze but again, in keeping with TAJA events so far, the rain started holding out after noon. TAJA volunteers starting pouring into the venue a little after one to help setup the auditorium for the evening. A few were busy setting up the stage while some were setting up the area for the "bommala koluvu" and the "bhogipallu". Some others helped setup the "Muggula" area while the "food section" was also being setup. And then there was the "approach area" that was being setup with banners/signs and "decorative arches". Some volunteers moved from area to area to help out as they were getting done on the previous activity. Within no time, it was 4.30 pm and the first batch of members started streaming in. A welcome desk was quickly setup and manned by Janardhan and Srini Y to have members familiarize them of and ratify the newly redrafted TAJA constitution and Bylaws.
While Shanta Rayaprolu took the lead in arranging for the "Bommala koluvu", Mahendra and Vasudeep got busy getting the food items brought by members organized and in order. Venkat also got into the act to help out with the food setup. While some children would insist on going off to fly kites, some others make a brief stop to turn over their "Essence of Sankraanthi" project and then dash to the grounds where the kites were being flown. Srini N and Sai were on hand to help the children learn how to fly kites. With the lingering breeze as support, the children had some gala 'kite' time in the outdoors. TAJA President Mallikarjuna welcomed the members and introduced the MC Sri. Phani Dokka. The "muggula poti" got underway as soon as some participants turned up and Sri Phani Dokka (from Atlanta) took it upon himself to regale the audience with his mimickry, avadhanam and his vocals. Some members from within the community came forward to render songs and "padyalu". While all this was going on, the "Essence of Sankraanthi" project submissions almost entirely filled up one of the longer walls. Some women sang Sankraanhti songs while they danced aroung the "gobbimmalu". No sooner "Bhogipallu" and Bommala koluvu" were thrown open, they were literally flooded by parents and children who eagerly queued up to participate and view. While this was going on, panels of judges selected from amongst the members present judged the "Muggulu" as well as the "Essence of Sankraanthi" project work.
Local artists and members Sashi Arun, Subhasree, Ramya, Manjula and Lalitha performed a classical dance recital that was well appreciated by the audience. Dinner was thrown open almost soon after and our sponsor Prudential presented information pertaining to auto/home insurance policies. Phani then took over the proceedings and prizes were announced/presented to winners of various sports events held over the last few months as well as to winners of the "muggula poti" as well as the "Essence of Sankraanthi" project. All the children who participated in this project were invited on stage and given a token of appreciation. The winners of the "muggula poti" were Radhika and Navya (1 st), Bhagya and Vijaya (2nd) and Padma, Anusha and Pratyusha (3rd).
As the event wound down, Sarath Kuravi apprised the audience about the key changes to the Constitution and By-laws. While this was going on, some members started the cleanup process by picking up the trash and cleaning out the tables and the leftovers. As the members started leaving for their homes, they picked up their copy of the TAJA calendar for 2008. Bananas were setup by the door (albeit a little late) for members to pick if they chose to.
Over 300 members turned up along with their children even though the next day was a working day beating expectations and once again proving their commitment towards Telugu culture. Close to 70 particpants livened up the "muggula poti" whereas there were around 27 submissions to the "Essence of Sankraanthi" project.
We would like to thank everybody who took the time to make it to this event, as we know how hard it is to give a few hours on a Sunday evening. We thank all of those members who volunteered/agreed to bring something along for the potluck dinner. Some members just stepped in to help arrange and serve the food. There were members who volunteered to help at every stage, be it decorating, arranging or even cleaning up at the end. We thank all of them profusely. Some of them are Shanta Rayaprolu, Sarita Chekkila, Kalyan K, Gopi Vellanki, Madhav Aleti, Srinivas, Vamsee, Ramesh amongst many others. We would like to thank Sri Phani Dokka for volunteering to help conduct the proceedings and entertain the audience. We would like to thank all the committee members most of whom had been at the venue since 1 pm. Some of them had even been working on this event for over a month. Prudential Financials and Dr. Prasanthi Reddy sponsored the event. Celebrations ended with vote of thanks by our Vice President Srini Yadlapalli.
| Sankraanthi 2008 | 13 January 2008 4.30 pm to 8.00 pm, JCDS, Baymeadows | Photo Gallery |
Comes into force from the Sarvadhaari year
As is common knowledge by now, last year TAJA had taken upon itself the task of revising it's Constitution and Bylaws so as to align
these documents with today's times. A "Constitution and Bylaws" committee was formed and set about framing a new set of documents. Many
weekends and iterations later, the documents were presented to our Attorney for review and revision.
These documents were then circulated to the TAJA committee as well as the members for their comments and feedback. This feedback was siphoned back to our Attorney for his advise. The final documents were then presented to our members during the Sankraanthi Event for their approval.
We would like to inform you that TAJA has received the sufficient number of approvals for us to be able to ratify and approve the new Constiution and Bylaws. The Executive committee, has, upon confirming that at least 2/3rd of the Sarvajit members have given their consent, formally approved the adoption of these new documents in lieu of the existing counterparts with effect from March 1, 2008.
...and bring some holiday cheer
On Saturday December 8, TAJA volunteers turned up at the Southeast branch of the Jacksonville Public library to re-label books from the children section. The library's children dept. personnel Anida and Chris were very happy to see TAJA volunteers as this work had been pending for over a year. The work involved labeling books on biographies and then re-organizing them back on the shelves. The volunteers' work was much appreciated and the library custodians were very happy about the completed work.
TAJA is thankful to the following volunteers who took their valuable time off to come and participate:
1) Nityasree (Student) 2) Sandeep Chalam(Student) 3) Vignesh Vudutha (Student) 4) Krithika Muthyala (Student) 5) Sirisha Thambulum (Student) 6) Ramasai Kalyanam (Student) 7) Manuel Britto (Student) 8) Harishi Kalyanam (Student) 9) Akhila Jerripothula (Student) 10) Anusha Jerripothula (Student) 11) Divyagnan Kandala (Student) 12) Taruntej Kandala (Student) 13) Dileep Karri (Student) 14) Mrs. Lakshmi Karri 15) Mr. Chidambaram Rayaprolu 16) Mr. Ramesh Gangisetti 17) Mr. Aditya Varma Vatsavaya 18) Mr. Rao Vudutha 19) Mrs. Rani Chiliveru 20) Mr. Bharat Muthyala 21) Mr. Dayakar Reddy 22) Mrs. Aruna Chalam 23) Mr. Dora Davuluri 24) Mr. Mallikarjuna Jerripothula
On Saturday Dec 15, the following sixteen TAJA Volunteers volunteered at "Daniel Kids" which provides shelter to children who would have otherwise been homeless. TAJA volunteers made it "a different day" for about 25 "Daniel Kids" by playing with them and sharing their emotions/feelings for a couple of hours. Volunteers participated in games like football, basketball, pool and spent time getting involved in the interests of the children. Snacks, beverages and pizza were provided to the children by TAJA and served by the volunteers.
1) Murali Gangidi 2) Sirisha Rayaprolu 3) Sreedhar Nunna 4) Roja Nunna 5) Mohan Ravi 6) Dora Davuluri 7) Aditya Varma Vatsavaya 8) Mallikarjuna Jerripothula 9) Srinivas Yarraguntla 10) Janardhan Katepalli 11) Kirshna Priya 12) Anant Kota 13) Ram Mohan Ambavaram 14) Suparna Ambavaram 15) Murali Gangidi16) Vasudeep Yanala
Daniel Kids and TAJA are thankful to all volunteers who volunteered at "Daniel Kids" and brought some joy to the lives of the children of "Daniel Kids".
| Charity events 2007 | 8 and 15 December 2007 | Photo Gallery |
Get ready to answer the call!
Most of us are aware of the efforts that are put in by people who serve on the committee. Preparations for an event start off a month or two in advance and the committee members put in a lot of effort to help bring the events to fruition. Some members on the committee even give time around the year towards running this organization. As with any voluntary organization, TAJA relies heavily on the contribution of it's selfless volunteers for almost all events that it undertakes.
If you have volunteered for TAJA before or if you would like to play a more active part, you should try serving on the committee. If you are interested, all you have to do is respond to TAJA's call for nominations in early March
...and participate in other local events too.
TAJA has been getting invited to participate at local events organized by other area organizations like ourselves. Guaging that participation by TAJA members in other events would foster a sense of belonging to the local community, TAJA has been encouraging our members to participate.
A couple fo recent activites included the participation of our members at ICS's Republic day event and at the
India night event of the Jacksonville Art walk. We thank our members for making the effort and for taking the time out to participate. Your participation at the Jacksonville Art walk
was much appreciated by the Jacksonville communtiy.
One more greenfield airport on the way at Vizag!
India's first Private-public Greenfield Airport has been unvieled. Hyderabad International Airport
at Shamshabad will be open to commercial flights starting from March 16, 2008. Test landings have already been completed by commercial airlines. among other things,
this airport features South Asia's longest runway.
Close on the heels of this news comes the announcment from the Andhra Pradesh government that the site for another Greenfield International Airport at Vizag has been finalized. Located almost bang in the middle of the Vizag-Kakinada industrial corridor, it is beleived that an airport at this location will serve a larger population.
