TAJA's Sarvajit Ugadi celebrations heralded the new year with style and pomp. The main attractions at the beginning of the event were the snacks, and the various sponsor booths while displaying their wares, were attracting members by holding raffles of their own. While much of this activity lasted throughout the evening, the snacks were a different story altogether. The portrait corner got a lot of attention too and as a result, a huge amount was raised towards charity. Free Telugu Panchaangams were handed over to members.

The stage show kicked off with the President's address and was immediately followed by the presentation ceremony for the winners and runners of the Ugadi sport events.

This was followed by a scintillating display of talent as the audience was treated to an array of mesmerizing numbers. Numbers that were excellently coreographed and presented no matter what the age group of the performers was. The items were quite varied too, for they spanned the entire gamut from folklore to classical to film. The events were briefly punctuated by the recognition of the current committee and past presidents and by the introduction of the next committee. The MCs Sai, Vaishali and Krishna Priya ably kept the audience entertained in the gaps between events. Sai even took to the flute (and did it well) on occassion. The event was rounded up by a vote of thanks by the Vice-President.

Baby sitters with entertainers (Face Painting) kept the children entertained in an adjoining room while the show was on. Pizza was provided for the children and food was served for the rest of the members after the event. The area in and around the cafeteria was buzzing with activity as the winners of the various raffles were being drawn and announced. The Ashwin (Davuluri) and Anil (Yada) families were the winners of Pattukunte Pattu Chira (Sponsored by realestates4hyderabad). There were not many TAJA Medhavulu (Sponsored by HCL Systems), but all winners were given gift cards. The Ipod nano was raffled off too and Jaya was the lucky winner. One of our sponsors, Apna Bazaar, handed out kitchen utensils for free. It was close to midnight by the tme the last soul left the venue.

We would like to thank all of our members who made this an evening to remember. We appreciate the hard work that several members had to put in for practice sessions of the events. We also appreciate the efforts of all the volunteers including those of the committee members, both current and future. A lot of voluntary work that cannot go unrfecognized went on behind the scenes both on and off stage as well as in and around the cafeteria on the day of the event. Thank you everybody for making this possible.

Last but not the least, we would like to thank all our sponsors, without whose help, we wouldn't have been able to take this off on such a grand scale.

| Sarvajit Ugadi Bonanza | 04.21.2007 | Bartram Trail High School | Photo Gallery 1 2 3 4 5|

While most of us were in the middle of the TAJA sports competitions last month, a few members snuck out to the Carribean to experience first hand the sights and sounds of the islands that we normally get to see and hear through our TVs. It did help that the world's greatest cricketing extravaganza (World Cup Cricket) was in progress in some of the most scenic locations that the game is played and worshipped.

Perhaps the one person in the group who enjoyed meeting the cricketing legends the most was Vythu. Not only did he get to meet up with some of the all-time greats, he also had a chance to talk to BBC TV. We leave you with some images that may (or may not, as the case maybe) be convincing proof of these guys' love for the game of cricket!

Did you know that you can pay for as well as ship most of your mail from your home without going to a post office? All you will need is access to the internet, a printer and (maybe) a weighing machine.

The process itself is rather simple. Goto usps.com, and then choose where you would like to send your mail (Domestic/International). Then follow the flow and answer questions that are asked about the type of mail and the from and to addresses. Once the Q&A is completed, you will be given several options along with prices for mail/proof of delivery/ insurance cost etc. When you choose your option, you will be given a choice of paying the postage online. You may even choose to pay at a postal location. Either way, you will be prompted to print the mailing slip that you will have to stick to your letter/packet. If you have already paid online, you can even schedule for a pickup of your packet by USPS. You may hand over the packet to the mail carrier who drops off your mail everyday.

Ofcourse, If you have to mail something out the same day, but your mail carrier has already left, then you may have to rush to the nearest postal location to drop off your package (prepaid or not).

Local boy Vignesh Vudatha won the second prize (junior category) for Physics in the State Science and Engineering Fair that was recently conducted in Fort Meyers, FL. He had earlier also won the first place and grand award in the regional Science and Engineering Fair conducted in FCCJ, Jacksonville. Kudos to Vignesh for his superlative achievements.

While Vignesh was showcasing his talents in the junior category, Sandeep Kakarla was the shining light in the senior category and won the state 3rd prize for his work in the Senior Medicine and Health division. Sandeep's project, titled "Radiosensitivity of Retinal Ganglion Cells vs. Vascular Endothelial Cells", dealt with measuring the effectiveness of radiation as a treatment in Wet Macular Degeneration. Here is Sandeep's explanation in his own words:

When the eye is exposed to radiation, two types of cells are exposed to radiation: Retinal ganglion, and endothelial. The point was to take the two types of cells and give measured doses of radiation to each cell. 2 days later, a cell count would be taken to see the percentage survival of each of the cells. In these kinds of treatments you want to preserve the retinal ganglion cells and kill more of the endothelial cells that are causing the problem. The experiment found that endothelial cells are more radiosensitive so radiation would be a viable treatment.

If you enjoy dancing of any kind, here is your chance to be a part of a local dance group. This group specializes in the lively Punjabi dance form of Bhangra.

Christened 'Jacksonville Bhangra', this group's purpose is to perform bhangra at local events and to represent Jacksonville at regional and national bhangra competitions.

The group is currently looking to recruit anyone interested in performing bhangra. If you are interested or for additional details email the group.

Essar is all set to acquire US based Minesotta Steel LLC for $80 to $90 million. Essar had recently announced the acquisition of the Canadian firm Algoma Steel for $1.58 billion.

You must have already heard about how you will have to shell out $$$ to enjoy clear, crisp, commercial free sound from satellite radio.

Not many are aware that HD (High Definition) radio is already available (and growing) in almost all major markets of the US, that too for free! You get the same clear sound that satellite radio gets you, but you will have to tolerate the commercials (that is why it is free!). All you will need to have is a HD radio tuner/receiver either at home or for your car and you will be able to tune to those HD frequencies that typically lie alongside the regular FM counterparts on the radio band.

India's largest automaker TATA Motors is all set to start production of the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. TATA Motors is collaborating with Luxembourg based MDI, for whom the Air Car was designed. This car will use compressed air to push its engine's pistons.

Priced at less than $13,000 the CityCat can reach speeds of 68mph and has a range of 125 miles before it will have to be 'refuelled' with compressed air! It will take only a few minutes and a couple of dollars to fill up its 340 litre tank at any gas station that is equipped with custom air compressor units. The Air Car can also be filled up at home within 4 hours by plugging in the inbuilt air compressor to the electric grid.

The blockbuster 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' recently completed 600 weeks of consecutive runs at a single theater. Still runs to full houses over the weekends.

After about two decades, Indian mangoes have started arriving in the US market. The first shipment arrived early May.

Google enters into an MOU with the AP Government for setting up its centre in Hyderabad.

Satyam computers starts operations at their Vizag City Center. Visakha Knowledge Corridor mooted along the 48 km long Anakapalli - Pendurthy - Anandapuram stretch.

Indian Postal service to serve as outlets for Ambica darbar bathi's product lines. Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Khammam and West Godavari will be the first districts.

Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospitals (at Prasanthi nilayam, Puttaparthi as well as at Whitefield, Bangalore) to offer free cardiac surgeries.

India's Jet Airways to start air service between India and New York starting from August 5.