Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Spirit of Tiranga
A group of performers from Tiranga performed at the Indian Independence Day event organised by Indian Association of Virginia, on 16th August 2009. Video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgtVHhViwao&feature=player_embedded
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Funnnnn!!!
It's time to get a break right before the classes start again!! A time away from work to refill ourselves with energy!! Time to have pure fun and some adventure!! Time to make new friends !!
Tiranga is organizing one more picnic, encouraged by good response we got for the first one. Please read below for the details.
Date: Saturday, 15 Aug.
Place: Pocohontas state park, Chesterfield, Va. ( 30 minutes drive from Richmond)
Expenses:
Transportation charges, if you do not have your own transportation.
Parking per vehicle is 5 USD.
Canoeing rental is 8 dollars per hour.
There are lot of other fun and adventure activities in park like fishing, swimming, biking ( No bike rental), Hiking etc.
http://www.dcr. virginia. gov/ state_parks/ poc.shtml
Further details and confirmation contact pssidhu@vcu. edu or RSVP tiranga@vcu. edu
Regards,
Tiranga Team
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Story of India
Do you know everything about Indian culture and history?
We welcome you to be a part of the show "The Story of India", to learn about India. Its an interesting and beautifully made documentary film on how and where did the diverse culture originated and developed.
So see you at commons theater on 2nd June 6:00pm for the 1 st and 2nd episode.
Total Episodes - 6
Length of each episode - 35-45 min,
Narration Language - English
We welcome you to be a part of the show "The Story of India", to learn about India. Its an interesting and beautifully made documentary film on how and where did the diverse culture originated and developed.
So see you at commons theater on 2nd June 6:00pm for the 1 st and 2nd episode.
Total Episodes - 6
Length of each episode - 35-45 min,
Narration Language - English
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bhartiyam '09 - feedback!!!
Dear Friends, Bhariyam '09 was popular, not only amongst Indians but also non-Indians in VCU. We got an email from one of the undergrads in VCU and she wanted us to post it on the blog!! Thanks a lot Alina for your appreciation - we are thankful to the support and encouragement!!
Email from Alina:
"Dear Tiranga team,
I want to congratulate you for a good event!! I am a undergrad at VCU, but never before this did I get a chance to attend any Indian programs. I am glad I heard about this one and attended it.
Bhartiyam '09, as you guys describe it, was nice event. One of my girlfriends at high school was an Indian and she played an important role to introduce me to Indians and their colourfulness, culture, festivals,etc. and this has always fascinated me ever since. I love the vibrance and the enthusiasm. My experience yesterday was the same. I could feel the excitement everywhere in commons. Being an artist I love colours, colours was what impressed me the first thing yesterday - may it be the balloon mannequins outside, the design by the door, the colourful attires and colourful decorations of the room. After I had food, which I think was not very Indian, I had settled and all ready to watch the show. I might not be the right person to describe the show, since I do not know so much about Indian dance and music. I found all the dance performances very graceful, but very different than what I had ever seen in my life before. It was unfortunate that the songs could not reach the audience!!
I liked the last two group dance performances the most!!! One of which I know was Bhangra, since I have seen it before but the other was very different. I think both were neat combination of energy and grace. 'J ho' was good too, looked more like spontaneous dancing!! The programme could have been structured better, coz it became kinda dull in between for people like me (who do not know Indian singing).
I certainly think it was a time well-spent.
Thanks to all Indians in VCU for this neat show.
Alina "
Email from Alina:
"Dear Tiranga team,
I want to congratulate you for a good event!! I am a undergrad at VCU, but never before this did I get a chance to attend any Indian programs. I am glad I heard about this one and attended it.
Bhartiyam '09, as you guys describe it, was nice event. One of my girlfriends at high school was an Indian and she played an important role to introduce me to Indians and their colourfulness, culture, festivals,etc. and this has always fascinated me ever since. I love the vibrance and the enthusiasm. My experience yesterday was the same. I could feel the excitement everywhere in commons. Being an artist I love colours, colours was what impressed me the first thing yesterday - may it be the balloon mannequins outside, the design by the door, the colourful attires and colourful decorations of the room. After I had food, which I think was not very Indian, I had settled and all ready to watch the show. I might not be the right person to describe the show, since I do not know so much about Indian dance and music. I found all the dance performances very graceful, but very different than what I had ever seen in my life before. It was unfortunate that the songs could not reach the audience!!
I liked the last two group dance performances the most!!! One of which I know was Bhangra, since I have seen it before but the other was very different. I think both were neat combination of energy and grace. 'J ho' was good too, looked more like spontaneous dancing!! The programme could have been structured better, coz it became kinda dull in between for people like me (who do not know Indian singing).
I certainly think it was a time well-spent.
Thanks to all Indians in VCU for this neat show.
Alina "
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
FOR MY FRIENDS....
Hey you guys I miss you loads,
I keep walking down those old roads,
It hurts so bad I want to cry,
But thinking of you, I can't help but smile;
You give me peace inside while the world is at war,
You've given me a cause worth fighting for;
While reality has to be faced,
And life lived from day to day,
I store my dreams away
In a safe place,
Knowing that someday they will come true,
And I know this because of you :)
- Slash
I keep walking down those old roads,
It hurts so bad I want to cry,
But thinking of you, I can't help but smile;
You give me peace inside while the world is at war,
You've given me a cause worth fighting for;
While reality has to be faced,
And life lived from day to day,
I store my dreams away
In a safe place,
Knowing that someday they will come true,
And I know this because of you :)
- Slash
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Lagaan - The movie that makes us feel proud!!!
Tiranga brings to you
'Lagaan'(English translation - Land Tax)
Once upon a time in India (with English subtitle)
starring Aamir Khan. (plot summary below)
Venue: VCU student commons theater opposite Cabell Library VCU Campus.
Date: 11th Mar 2009, Wednesday
Time: 6:00 pm.
FREE ENTRY !!!
FREE REFRESHMENTS !!
For more information please email us at
rsvptiranga@gmail.com
or call
NITI VANEE (804 467 5738) and
KUNAL CHANIARY (804 244 0948)
Plot summary for the movie:
Story set in late 19th century, a small village in North India is facing drought conditions. Captain Andrew Russell, the British captain of the nearby cantonment, demands double of the usual land tax (lagaan) from the villagers. When the villagers' representatives go to meet Captain Russell(Paul Blackthorne) to discuss the situation, Capt. Russell challenges them to a game of cricket with his team after three months. A young villager Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) accepts the challenge and starts to build his team of villagers.
.
.
.
Will the villagers win the match?
How Bhuvan saves his people from British rulers?
What happens during the match?
Lets explore this historical event together!!!
Cheers,
Tiranga Team
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Jai Ho Rahman...
The recent Oscar to A R Rahman was a matter of pride, excitement and happiness for all of us. We know he is a great musician and we are extremely proud of him. But we also know that Jai ho was not his best creation!!! This became a matter of debate.
Before I could make my opinion, I had heard both sides of the debate one by one.
So one of my friends wrote a gtalk message, saying that why the hell do we need to give so much importance to Oscar and that there were so many Rahman songs better than Jai ho, but not produced by international production house and hence not apprecited.
I was impressed by this thought and sited his message in my gtalk. But I really started thinking about all this when Elsa responded to my gtalk message. I am going to quote what she wrote to me, "not tht jai ho is my favorite rahman song...i think he rose above just creating something for the indian audience (whose liking hes familiar with) ...and made something tht appealed to a wider range of audience at an international level..and thats commendable its not like his work was never valued in india..and suddenly hes receiving all the attention for his work only at the oscars bt its worth appreciating him for reaching out to wider audience. nd whats even amazing is its not like he used any western musical influence to create this song..its very indian..bt more appealing to firangs..who are not so mch into bollywood type songs a lot."
Well, I do agree that Oscar or for that matter any movie award function is overhyped, but it is globally very popular. And it is true that Rahman or any Indian film has never been appreciated at Oscars before (except Lagaan), but no Indian production can fall in the main category of Oscars... it will obviously be a foreign production. And there usually is a very tough competition in foreign films.
The other point is that "Art" is created and interpreted differently in every society. A best movie for Indians, can be a total lousy creation for non-Indians, becuase it is difficult for them to relate with our culture, our values that are shown in our movies. Similarly, a well appreciated H'wood movie, can be a total senseless to us.
I think slumdog put forth an Indian story, with international outlook and hence it was appreciated so much.
My opinion is that, art is boundless. A true art does not seek award or appreciation. In my opinion, true art is all about artists' happiness and satisfaction in the creation. If the artist gives 100%, the audience will appreciate the art. I see 100% in every Rahman song and people all over the world were exposed to it through slumdog. Jai Ho Rahman.. you are a genius!!!!
This is my take on this and its open to constructive criticism.
Aditi C.
Before I could make my opinion, I had heard both sides of the debate one by one.
So one of my friends wrote a gtalk message, saying that why the hell do we need to give so much importance to Oscar and that there were so many Rahman songs better than Jai ho, but not produced by international production house and hence not apprecited.
I was impressed by this thought and sited his message in my gtalk. But I really started thinking about all this when Elsa responded to my gtalk message. I am going to quote what she wrote to me, "not tht jai ho is my favorite rahman song...i think he rose above just creating something for the indian audience (whose liking hes familiar with) ...and made something tht appealed to a wider range of audience at an international level..and thats commendable its not like his work was never valued in india..and suddenly hes receiving all the attention for his work only at the oscars bt its worth appreciating him for reaching out to wider audience. nd whats even amazing is its not like he used any western musical influence to create this song..its very indian..bt more appealing to firangs..who are not so mch into bollywood type songs a lot."
Well, I do agree that Oscar or for that matter any movie award function is overhyped, but it is globally very popular. And it is true that Rahman or any Indian film has never been appreciated at Oscars before (except Lagaan), but no Indian production can fall in the main category of Oscars... it will obviously be a foreign production. And there usually is a very tough competition in foreign films.
The other point is that "Art" is created and interpreted differently in every society. A best movie for Indians, can be a total lousy creation for non-Indians, becuase it is difficult for them to relate with our culture, our values that are shown in our movies. Similarly, a well appreciated H'wood movie, can be a total senseless to us.
I think slumdog put forth an Indian story, with international outlook and hence it was appreciated so much.
My opinion is that, art is boundless. A true art does not seek award or appreciation. In my opinion, true art is all about artists' happiness and satisfaction in the creation. If the artist gives 100%, the audience will appreciate the art. I see 100% in every Rahman song and people all over the world were exposed to it through slumdog. Jai Ho Rahman.. you are a genius!!!!
This is my take on this and its open to constructive criticism.
Aditi C.
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