CULTURE: Night for Light: SEF Dandia Raas 2013 | SILICONEER

A General Interest Monthly Magazine for South Asians in the U.S.

Current Issue

Mobile

Past eMags

eMagazine

Videos

Advertisers

Media Kit

Archives

ADVERTISEMENTS

PREMIUM

CLASSIFIEDS

MULTIMEDIA VIDEO

CULTURE:
Night for Light: SEF Dandia Raas 2013

A festival with a cause, the Dandia-Raas events organized by Sankara Eye Foundation in San Francisco Bay Area are both culturally rich and generate the ability to give the invaluable gift of vision to many at the same time, writes Urmi Doshi.

(Above): Thousands join in the Garba round at Sankara Eye Foundation Dandia and Raas Garba event, Oct. 11, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. [Photo: Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer]

It’s ‘Garba time’ and once again an opportunity for the Bay Area desi revelers to sway on traditional beats. Yes, it was Sankara’s Dandia Nights in the Bay Area again during Navratri season. Sankara, the organization with a mission to eradicate curable blindness in India by 2020, organized the events at various parts of Bay Area.

A release from Sankara Eye Foundation reads that the Santa Clara event is one of the biggest Dandia events on the West Coast. “The goal is to create more awareness amongst the people about our organization and it’s mission,” says the founder and chairman of Sankara Eye Foundation. According to him, the revenue generated is not significant compared to the awareness created and hence the goal was to attract a lot of people.

(Above): Revelers of all ages had a wonderful time at this mega event, Oct. 11, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. [Photo: Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer]

Thousands of enthusiasts of Indian origin were at the event. Many of them were sporting their colorful traditional attire like ghagra choli or dhoti and dancing in traditional music with the customary beating of sticks. Sprinkled amongst the colorful groups of young and old, one could even see few American youngsters in Indian attire, adding color to the cultural event, dancing with their friends.

Rinku Daxini, a regular reveler who looks forward to coming to the Dandia Night every year, aptly described this as “Night for Light!” The light here referred to the daylight that a blind person may get to see due to Sankara’s efforts. Rinku clapped his hands twirling in circles, the dance form he was performing is called Gujarati Garba. He added “I get a chance to relish the Indian festivity and at the same time somehow I become an instrument in providing some help to eradicate blindness in India just by participating here.”

(Above): Booths doing brisk business at Sankara Eye Foundation Dandia and Raas Garba event, Oct. 11, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. [Photo: Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer]