We congratulate Pranav and are proud of this accomplishment. We hope that more youth are inspired to take an active interest in civic engagement !!

Pranav Cowlagi has been elected to become one of Shrewsbury's youngest town meeting members in the recently concluded town election. "My family, my school and volunteering with the India Society of Worcester (and IYG in particular) have always instilled the value of community service in me" says Pranav. " I am eager to get a closer understanding of the inner workings of our town government and advocate for issues that are important to me and my community."

A recent Indian Youth Group member, Pranav is  pursuing majors  in Environmental Science and Sustainable Business and Policy at UMass, Amherst. 

---submitted by Kelly Mittal

ISW PEN in collaboration with Asian Business Empowerment Council hosted an incredibly insightful session with representatives from MA Supplier Diversity Office & Small Business Administration (SBA) presenting on minority certification and federal contracting. It was a huge success and drew participants from as far as NH, Boston, and Lowell. Federal government spends about $700 billion with vendors and more than 23% of it is intended for small businesses and women/minority owned enterprises. The comprehensive discussions and networking opportunities provided attendees with the tools and knowledge to expand their business understanding and leverage benefits of diversity certifications for growth. 

ISW-Women Empowering Women – “Let’s Celebrate Her” May 10, 2024

Team: Snehalata Kadam, Neha Kaushal Mishra, Puja Harkut Rathi, Kajal Kaushik Dixit and Swara Gurav.

ISW- Women Empowering Women organized one of its flagships Mother’s Day celebratory events on May 10 th , 2024, at India Center. The event theme was to celebrate yourself royally with pearl elegance and lavender love. Over 150 ladies attended the event in vibrant lavender shades, dressed in confidence, The evening full of fun, laughter, and enjoyment!!! Every single attendee was involved in the team games with winning spirit. Many women came to the stage area to showcase their courage in impromptu dance moves. Some of them enjoyed Mother’s Day sale shopping for their near and dear ones. Some of them got involved in making reels with their friends. Most of the women were very much in the moment of taking solo pictures and group pictures to capture their memories to treasure for life. The three different categories of sponsors, one education, another fitness and the third financial literacy oriented one were a coessential part of the event. Special mention to the home décor, reuse beverage bottles and selfcare sponsors who made the winning even more attractive.

The event was a grand success with enormous amount of planning and hard work of six months by WEW team. The IYG volunteers Ayan Mishra, Prisha Rathi and Dhruv Jagan along with community volunteer Aadi Dixit were very helpful from registration to cleanup to photography. Special thank you to Sahith Madadi for capturing the memories for us through his photography, Ankush Rathi for his music management and Sharat Amin for traffic control support. 

submitted by Arathi Cowlagi

The ISW Symphony Art Festival was a one of a kind visual arts celebration for art enthusiasts of all ages put together by ISW Symphony team led by Sarita Deshpande & Neha Ujlayan.The event created a platform to bring together artists, artisans and art lovers from all across Massachusetts to showcase and appreciate the rich and varied art forms.

Some of the key features of the festival included:

- Art exhibitions - Featuring over 15+ talented local artists ranging from simple handmade bookmarks by a 84 year old to a 16 yr old modular origamist, attendees enjoyed a wide variety of art.

- Live demo, wheel throwing by Rachel Dubicki in partnership with the Worcester Center for Crafts

- Madhubani Art Workshop by well known local Madhubani artist, Sunanda Sahay 

- A collaborative community art project to celebrate Mother’s Day and Spring

- Kids Art Contest- 
Winners announced below-
Age group- 8-10 years 
Aarna shekhar - 1st prize (age 10)
Naavya Raghavendra- 2nd prize (age 9)
Divija- 3rd prize (age 8)
Age group- 5-7 years
Reya- 1st prize(age 7)
Nyra- 2nd prize ( age 5)
Mrig- 3rd prize (age 7)

- Food & Craft Stalls

-Gift baskets sponsored by Arathi Cowlagi(KW Realty) and Vandana Pitke(Om Homeopathy)
Winners below-
Mishta
Riana Sukhija
Piya B

This event had an overwhelming response from the community filling the need for a vibrant visual arts community event!

Promo video link - Promo1

                             Promo2

Pictures and Videos by Govind Dindore and Yatin Manjrekar  - Pictures 

Submitted by Kirti Nagpal

The Hasya Kavi Sammelan was a resounding success.
 It’s hard to describe in words how these talented poets were able to bring out such rib tickling humor with the play of words!!

 We had the honor of having accomplished poets like  Shambhu Shekhar ji , Arjun Gemini and Mumtaz Naseem grace our India center with their presence .
 We witnessed Brilliance at its best .
I can say with confidence that the audience were totally enthralled by their witty humor . We all were laughing our heads off the entire time except when Mumtaz Naseem very eloquently described the political instability and turmoil with our neighboring country. It touched every one’s soul and heart ,evident by the fact that she received  a standing ovation by the audience.Mumtaz Naseem is a poet whose words resonate with strength and resilience and beauty of human spirit.
 Shri Shambhu Shekhar our other renowned poet for the evening is a luminary in the world of verse . His phenomenal and compelling satire has captivated audience worldwide.He is able to weave words like an artist ,painting emotions and stories with the brush of language .Shambhu ji is indeed a master of his art.
Then we had Arun Gemini whose name is synonymous with humor at the highest level. His words have the power to stir emotions and ignite the imagination.His unique style and humor is unparalleled .We almost fell off our seats as we were laughing so hard .He is able to craft moments of joy from the absurdities of life .
As someone has quoted beautifully “Always find a reason to laugh, it may not add years to your life but will surely add life to your years"
In those 3 hours of this event at India  center we can all unanimously and undoubtedly agree that laughter reigned supreme. We got a good enough dose of laughter therapy 
In the end I would like to acknowledge all the hard work and efforts of our organizers and our volunteers  for bringing us such culturally rich and inspiring programs.

Poem recited by Nimish Kunte, ISW School  Hindi 4 student

Hello All,

My name is Jash Kotadiya and I am a BoyScout from Troop 114 who is working towards achieving the Eagle Scout rank by July. My Eagle project proposal has been approved and I plan to plant Arbor shrubs behind the kids play area at the ISW in Shrewsbury. In order to complete my project, I am raising funds for all of the required materials and supplies. The estimated cost of the project is about $1,800. I hope that I can count on your support to raise funds for my Eagle Project and any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Please support my Eagle project by:

Thank you for all your help and support.

ISW Advisors: Ashish Cowlagi, Suchitra Shinde, Ruchi Chauhan, Shiamin Melville

Grab your spot to laugh out loud!

ISW Hasya Kavi Sammelan 

Tickets for Kavi Sammelan

$25 ISW Member early bird until day before
$30 non Member early bird until day before
$35 per ticket on day of the show and at the door
$50 VIP front row seats

Arun Gemini

https://youtube.com/shorts/_QSl8GnkEgA?si=0qA_BqHDIpfUZ5cH

https://youtu.be/NMesDWd5a84?si=Z90MMByp8vbMVbyE

Shambhu Shikhar

https://youtube.com/shorts/0c9ECJ6KDnI?si=RJGUz7UxL5ZhzHEp

https://youtube.com/shorts/4zledYooIVs?si=5PUU8BzGRcFh5QCs

Mumtaz Naseem

https://youtube.com/shorts/05Sy5syuWMw?si=WZy627g6kV1NcmtB

https://youtu.be/nIsvjF4Ir_Y?si=FVRgnOx-81Xn1VDH

Thanks to DJ Arun for introducing us to Bingo with a Bollywood twist!!! Very creative and innovative idea.The game had the usual numbers but each number was associated with a popular song that was played anytime the number was called out . It was a melodious Bingo The game also included some Bonus attraction—Narration of famous and iconic dialogues of Bollywood Legends Amitabh Bachchan and Gabbar Singh !!

It spiced up the whole game !!

Congratulations to people who won prizes at the game This creative Bingo with music and Masala is perfect for any occasion and get together !

This was followed by our Humrahee Dance performance it showcased the talent of all my Humrahee friends who danced to different Bollywood numbers spanning from the Dilip Kumar era to the current period of chammak chaloo.

It was great to see everyone bring in so much energy

and enthusiasm to the stage .

We also compiled a special Holi dance it was an impromptu performance led by Sandhya ji .

Finale was our popular Manoranjan - Karaoke session. It is becoming a popular platform for people who sing great to the ones like me who love to sing - it’s a no judgement zone and it allows people to be free and sing their hearts out !!

It was a great get together !!! Fun and excitement non stop. Thanks for all those who attended and urging people who couldn’t make it this time to try to attend our next program in April - it’s the Kavi Samelan

Daffodils will be out soon at NEBG at Tower Hil, Boylston.  Inside scoop from Cassie, they have started coming up, and should be in full bloom in two weeks, so book your free passes soon. ISW Members are encouraged to request free passes, details here for visits to New England Botanical Garden.

I

In recognition of Ashish Cowlagi's volunteer time on NEBG's Community Advisory Committee, ISW was issued complimentary organizational membership, and it has been reniewed for the third year, so do avail of the passes.

Also one of our ISW School Marathi teachers, Priya Vaidya, a fan of NEBG, was invited to join NEBG Mission Committee and bring her skills to help New England Botanical Garden.

As a FYI, ISW will partner again this year with NEBG for Night Lights on November 23 2024, and showcase our Cultural Heritage  and celebrate DIwali with the broader community. Details to follow.

And did you know that  there is a painting of Dr. E.K. Janaki Ammal (1897–1984) displayed at the garden as part of the exhibit on Celebrating Women Horticultural Heroes, March 1–30. She was a pioneer in her field in UK and Kerala.

ISW Vocal Ensemble group get together.
submitted by Usha Yadav

Saturday evening families of our vocal ensemble group members (old and new) gathered to celebrate the end of the singing session and share their talents.There were 12 solo participation and two fun group performances.

Everyone had a great time showing their talents to the audience mostly the family members of the participants. It was a relaxing , entertaining evening combined with passion for singing.
The program concluded with the food / dinner, dj music and open dance floor for all.