Dakshin Mahotsav 2023

On May 1st, 2022, Sanskriti of New Jersey celebrated Dakshin Mahotsav, literally translated, Grand Festivals of South India. The festival coincides with New Year celebrations across many states of India. After three long years, this celebration resumed its first in-person gathering at the beautiful venue of Temple B’nai Abraham, Livingston and was appreciated by all attendees.

The event showcased the cultural diversities of Southern India and was a testimony to the richness of our culture. The event had a colorful mix of classical dances, musical performances, and themed fashion shows by local as well as invited artists. The talented emcees kept the audience engaged with freeze dances and other activities throughout the evening. The women’s fashion show included ladies who flaunted beautiful jewelry while sporting intricate Kanchipuram Silks to breezy chiffons, while the men’s fashion show had each one portraying famous southern heroes and enacted their scenes. The audience loved to see their friends and neighbors on the catwalk.

Dakshin Mahotsav was attended by nearly 300 people from Livingston and nearby communities. The event kicked off with beautiful drum beats. Archana Gollamudi introduced the Executive Committee (EC) Members of Sanskriti- President Neeta Juvekar and EC event liaison Vinita Gangadharan along with the Event Chairpersons of Dakshin Mahotsav, Prashanti Kumar and Sindhura Reddy. Both EC members appreciated the hard work put in by the Event Chairs and the Program Leads.

Sanskriti is grateful to the Silver sponsor of this event Harleen Manko from New York Life. Our prizes and awards were sponsored by:

• Bina Beed • Code Miracles • Code Ninjas • Pure Barre •

• Swati Pandey’s Yoga • Shally Arora Photography •

A big thank you to our dedicated lead volunteers who made sure every aspect of the event is run smoothly, may it be beautiful decorations, setup-breakdown, dinner area management, performances, or sound engineering:

 • Abhishek Gangwal • Anupama Kaul • Arena Bhattacharya • Kirti Gavri • Nithya Venkatesh • Saritha Makarla • Sathya Venigandla • Shilpa Bekal • Srinivas Salandra • Suchi Ankam • Sudeep Amin • Sujay Viswanath • Swapna Bhatt • Swetha Reddy • Vidya Gottimukkala • Visalakshi Vaidyanathan • Yochita Pinapala •

We thank the Teen Volunteers who dedicated their time and effort:

• Advit Gangwal • Keshav Gollamudi • Pranay Narula • Siddhesh Kumar • Romeela Anand •

There were many other volunteers who stepped in graciously on the day of the event and helped where help was needed. A special shout out to Sanskriti Cricket Club members who helped serve the dinner making that process smoother. Thank you to all these special people.