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HAPPENINGS AT ISW

  • 11 Mar 2022 11:25 AM | Anonymous
    New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill (new name)

    New Summer hours available, check the website

    Free ISW organizational membership passes permits  general admission to the Garden.  We can email an e-ticket to you, 24 hour notice would be appreciated. 

    New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill has gifted two ISW organizational membership passes  to ISW, which can be used by our members. Please show the printed tickets  upon arrival at the Garden for free general admission to Tower Hill.  Complete this form  AND send email to schoollead@iswonline.org.  If you are not an ISW member, do consider becoming one.

    One membership card admits three individuals for FREE, we have two, so 6 can visit per day.  10% discount at The Garden Shop at Tower Hill with presentation of membership card (three individuals per card). Savings on classes, tours and workshops, and  Discounts at local participating nurseries upon presentation of membership card, plus FREE gardening advice through the HORTLINE, open every Wednesday from 12noon–4pm. Call 508.869.6111 x104 or email hortline@towerhillbg.org.

  • 12 Feb 2022 10:00 PM | Anonymous

    Hi everyone, my name is Tanu Nekenti, and I’m here to give you a little recap of last Saturday! If you didn’t already know, the India Society of Worcester (ISW) kicked off the new year with an extraordinary event called The Harvest Festival! It took place last Saturday, February 12th, 2022, from 2-6 pm. The event was a virtual program streamed LIVE on ISW’s Facebook page.

    India is popularly known as the land of festivals, considered a colorful nation where people celebrate with full vigor and joy. Harvest festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm to mark the beginning of the new spring and are celebrated in most of India as the new year by Hindus. Being the cheerful nation that India is, the most vibrant harvest festivals of India involve interesting mythological legends and joyous celebrations. They are as incredible and diverse as their people and landscapes and let you experience the beauty of Indian culture. India has 29 states, and every state celebrates harvest festivals at different times in the year. The first yield of the crop is a delight for the people, as it marks a time of prosperity for the farmers. This leads to them celebrating it cheerfully as a festival.

    Due to the ongoing pandemic, we could not gather in person as in previous years. However, we invited the extended ISW community to participate virtually in the cultural event and dance competition. This was met with astounding participation.

    The show lasted nearly three hours and was emceed by Tanushree Nekenti and Kunal Chauhan. It featured a variety of acts, including Indian traditional dances, semi-classical dances, and Bollywood medleys. Participants included many energetic individuals from all age ranges. All the dances were brilliantly choreographed and incredibly entertaining for both young and old.

    As mentioned earlier, each and every single contestant brought a fantastic talent to this one-of-a-kind platform. There were four very accomplished judges to judge the competition: Hema Iyengar, Shaila Verma, Sunita Ramnani, Srinivaas A.B. They did a spectacular job with the judging, though I know it must have been tough for them, as all the performances were absolutely magnificent! However, since it was a contest, the judges identified these gems from the participants.

    Age Category - Below 9 years

    1st place - Jhankar by Shaswati Basu - Performers - Gavishi Joshi, Rohini Patel.  

    2nd place - Bollywood Beats by Shaswati Basu - Performers - Shivani Suresh, Ayushi Dasgupta, Saanvi Karuturi, Thenammai Valliappan  

    3rd place - Disco by Ekta Jain -

    Performers - 

    1.Riya Thiagarajan
    2. Isabel Thomas 
    3. Pihu Mangarhe
    4. Jasmin Grover
    5. Niyati Dosala
    6. Kaira Agarwal
    7. Shanvika Potli
    8. Jia Gadhia

    Age Category - 9 to 12 years

    1st place - Tapori by Ekta Jain. Performers - Naksh Parwani, Neil Dixit, Neil Dave, Anish , Saahith Karthik, Ruhan Lawana  

    2nd place - Dancing Divas by Adilakshmi. Performers - 

    Sai Jayita Vootla, Pallavi PadalaPragathi SenthilkumarSravya GollapudiTanvi PadmarajuTanvika Chintalapudi

    Age Category -13 to 17 years

    1st place - Kathak Kunj by Shaswati Basu. Performers - Aishani Mukherjee, Safalta Sanjay Shukla, Samvriddhi Sanjay Shukla, Mihika Sengupta, Saanvi Basu 

    2nd place - Tarana by Mona Mitra. Performers - Prisha Kumar, Miley Arora, Sanvi Kumar, Dia Arora 

    Age Category - 18 and over

    1st place - North and South by Ekta Jain. Performers - Geena Virmani, Jyoti Grover, Namita Khungar, Neetu Gupta, Nipun Asija, Manasa Singamsetty, Vaishali Sharma , Ranjan Sharma

    2nd place - Agary Nandini by Priya Asthana and Sadhvi Majumdar. Performers - Priya Madhan/Priya Asthana 

    Congratulations to everyone, the contestants and the winners. All of you are winners in our hearts and performed magnificently! 

    All of the contestants and participants brought sensational talent to this one-of-a-kind platform. We thank our participants for sharing their talent and love with us. We also thank our choreographers, emcees, organizers, sponsors, and especially the audience at home; we couldn’t do it without you! I had a great time watching and participating in this amazing event, and I hope you had fun too! If you missed the event, you can still view it on Facebook on the ISW page. We hope to see you at future ISW events as well.

    ~ Tanushree Nekenti

  • 8 Feb 2022 3:28 PM | Anonymous

    Deadline for PVSA award extended to Feb 28, 2022

    Thank you for your volunteer hours.

    We hope to track the hours to recognize the amazing volunteers who contribute to India Society of Worcester

    Try and fill it at the end of each quarter in 2021

    Additionally, if you want, you can allow ISW to share your info to be considered for the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA). The PVSA recognizes incredible individuals who are committed to a high level of volunteer and service with a PVSA medal and a letter from the White House. More info at:

    https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility#volunteers

    To be eligible for President’s Volunteer Service Award, one has to be a  US Citizen or permanent resident.

    If volunteers have volunteered for other organizations that do not have this PVSA program, we can combine it , depending on verification, as long as there is no duplication.

    Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group

    Age Group                        Bronze                 Silver                                          Gold         

    Kids (5–10 years old)     26–49 hours      50–74 hours                              75+ hours 

    Teens (11–15)                 50–74 hours       75–99 hours                           100+ hours 

    Young Adults (16–25) 100–174 hours 175–249 hours                        250+ hours

    Adults (26+)                    100–249 hours 250–499 hours                      500+ hours 



  • 5 Feb 2022 1:45 PM | Anonymous

    ISW re-launches multiple LGBTQ support 

    ---Vivian Saravanan, Shiamin Melville

    Lambda is a peer-led safe space for LGBTQ+ youth of South Asian origin to connect with peers for informal discussion, support, and connection with the larger community. While the group is tailored to the South Asian LGBTQ+ experience, all are welcome!

    Meetings occur every Wednesday from 8:00 - 9:00 PM via Zoom and feature activities and topics chosen by group participants. 

    We recognize the individual talents and creativity of our youth and hope to provide a safe space for them to not only have fun but to feel welcome taking initiative in planning group activities. This is also a great leadership opportunity for older South Asian LBGTQ+ youth and adults.

    To join our weekly meetings, or talk more about becoming a peer leader, please email lambda@iswonline.org.

    ISW Family of LGBTQ+ Support Network

     The ISW Family of LGBTQ+ Support Network is a support group for family members of LGBTQ+ people meeting periodically. The aim of the support group is to provide an open forum for the discussion of touching issues raised by the intersection of Indian culture and LGBTQ+ people. An adult facilitator will be present to lead discussion and provide referrals to pertinent resources. 

    For more information, send email to friends_of_lambda@iswonline.org

    ISW Advisory board

    School Counselor Shubh Agrawal, MEd, Harvard Teaching Fellow

    Ami Popat-Jain, PhD

    Pediatrician Dr. Sahdev Passey, MD,

    Numerous resources through CenterLink and OUT MetroWest.



  • 3 Feb 2022 5:10 PM | Anonymous

    Enrollment is open, starting February 1, 2022

    18 sessions, schedule determined by Tutor and parent.

    Prepare your child for the second semester academic year.  Math, English, Spanish, French, Speech & Debate, Chess  and many more.  Tutor and Tutee will meet via zoom once a week for 18 sessions. One-on-One, no group classes.

    Cost - $90 (18 sessions at $5 per session ) - ISW member

    A separate registration is required for each subject

    Funds collected are to be allocated to ISW Building Expansion.

    Use ISW membership email id to login.  ISW Membership can be completed/renewed here.

    We would also love to hear back from you, so please fill out the survey

  • 29 Jan 2022 7:12 PM | Anonymous

    ISW STRONG

    --Ragini Seth

    India Society of Worcester is back on the TD Garden floor after a 3 year hiatus. Not one but two performances

    On Wednesday February 2nd Boston Celtics play against Charlotte Hornets: Darshana Jani’s group performs the pregame show.

    On Thursday March 3rd Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies: Jasmine Shah’s group and Ekta Jain’s group perform the pregame show.

    Three of our best choreographers are putting ISW back on the TD Garden map. We will have over 500 of our community members going to the games to watch their kids perform on the floor that the Celtics play. It is indeed a proud moment for all of us to keep the tradition going that was started in 2011. When we asked if we could schedule a pre game performance, Marc Rogers, our Group Celtics coordinator, did say we were his favorite group. He was amazed that we were coming in for two days. Yeah we are ISW STRONG. For more information please contact the choreographers directly.


    Feb 2nd, 2022 Wednesday

    Darshana Jani @508451-3190


    March 3rd, 2022 Thursday

    Jasmine @ 603-930-3783 and Ekta Jain @ 508 488-7775



  • 20 Jan 2022 5:00 PM | Anonymous

    Affinity Networking: a ISW-Women Empowering Women (WEW) event

    By Snehalata Kadam and the WEW team

    On January 8 th 2022, we organized an online event called ”The Art of Self-portrayal: defining your presence”.

    The event was an interactive, inspirational conversation attended by members of the community. The participants were from diverse professional backgrounds, for instance: an oncologist, leading a drug discovery company, a mental health professional and an entrepreneur. They provided an unique perspective on the theme by sharing their journey with us. The take-home message of the event was that being confident and prepared enables you to succeed in any professional setup. All participants interacted and left with a smile on their face.

    WEW team members Kalyani Kanuri and Neha Kaushal did a great job engaging the attendees and carrying the conversations forward.

    The WEW initiative is part of ISW’s 2025 strategic plan focusing on ELEVATING, EDUCATING and EMPOWERING women.

    For ideas and suggestions, contact Snehal at

    isw-wew@iswonline.org 


  • 15 Dec 2021 1:49 PM | Anonymous

    The 15th Annual India Society of Worcester Christmas celebrations were held at the newly expanded India center on December 11, 2021 following the CDC guidelines.  Families dressed in Christmas colors in Indian attire, from women in their colorful Saris, to men in their suits and cultural garb, kicked off the 2021 Christmas season together!.. Christmas lights with the sounds of joyous Christmas carols sung rang through the hall bought Christmas Spirit.  After 2020’s Drive-thru Children’s Christmas Gifts pick up,  in the midst of the Pandemic , many families wished to attend the in-person 2021 event  but the registration has to be closed early to limit the audience to maintain Social distancing in the auditorium.. 

    This year’s Christmas Story was shared by Mr. Justin Joseph, Professor of communications at Boston University bringing the significance of birth of Jesus Christ to bring Peace and Hope in times like this . Mr. Puneet Kohli , President of ISW along with Family cut the first Christmas cake following ISW Christmas  tradition  with greetings to the community, Dr, Jagan Srinivasan , VP ISW, presented the 2025 ISW  Vision  and Mr Rajoo Ananth,  Chair , ISW Crisis  committee , shed some light on community care for hurting families in the pandemic   Also ISW  presented a donation to the T&G Santa Fund  to reach out to community around us to share the love.      The appearance of Santa Claus, bought Cheer and Joy to the children as they received Christmas presents and took pictures with Santa.  The families was also given to-go boxes with Indian food to enjoy at home with their families.  

    ISW Christmas 2021 - Event photos
    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1U2YJs62ExBZGCagOqw3FzfwEvpkurUxT?usp=sharing


    ISW Christmas 2021 - Photos with Santa
    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19OrLeYLb0uewDrNM-K1Pnsm-wOJOQ2UU?usp=sharing


  • 25 Oct 2021 3:46 PM | Anonymous

    On Thursday, October 14th, 2021, the third session of WEW (Women Empowering Women) took place at ISW. Snehal and Neha did a great job presenting the panelists, women who are well established in their respective fields and have demonstrated leadership in their career path. The audience was enthralled by their accomplishments and their guidance and tips for successful career growth.

    Reeta Rao, the Head of the Biology Biotechnology Department at WPI is an extremely accomplished and confident woman in the field of education and research. She prepares and mentors young scientists and researchers. She gave insight into how she has excelled in the field of biotechnology and is a role model for women who aspire to be in the teaching and research fields.

    It was heartwarming to hear about Nausheen Maulana’s journey from MathWorks, where she began modestly in the quality assurance team, and later became CTO and start up Advisor. She led complex teams faced many challenges and was successful in turning them around. She has a passion for learning and integrating new technologies.

    Apeksha Tripathi, a gentle and soft-spoken woman, has done amazing things in the field of medicine. Apeksha not only runs a pediatric and women's health primary care facility, she also teaches at University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has been awarded for teaching as well.

    Priya Samant works in the fields of Social Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation, Non-Profit Management, Women and Youth Empowerment, Strategy Consulting, and Government and Politics. She is actively involved in her community and stays connected to her Indian roots and can be seen eloquently draping a saree be it a high political meeting or being a panelist, or even a presenter at various forums.

    Neha Beniwal spoke about how she faced reluctance from her parents while she wanted to come to the USA for further studies. Neha always focused on what she wanted to achieve. She set a path for herself in the male dominated field of cyber security. She believes in the three E’s (Educate, Engage, and Enable) and the 3 I’s (Inclusion, Influence, and Impact) as she feels this is what makes a person achieve their goals.

    This seminar was a humble and insightful experience. Hearing the panelists making big impacts in their field and continuing to influence and make a difference to women was inspiring. Audience has inquisitive questions to the panelist which made the session very successful.

    WEW will hold its next session in December 2021.

  • 26 Sep 2021 9:18 PM | Anonymous

    Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in Shrewsbury Got Talent 2021. 

    If you missed seeing the Facebook Live event, you can still watch it on the ISW Facebook page. Links provided below - 

    Part 1 - https://www.facebook.com/iswonline/videos/935782133948981

    Part 2 - https://www.facebook.com/iswonline/videos/264162755563306

    Winners were announced during the event. Here are the winners again - 

    Tiny Tots - 8 years and below
    1st prize - Alex Wilson 

    2nd prize-  Sahasra Singari
    3rd prize - Pihu Mangarhe

    Young Icons - 9-12 years old
    1st Prize - Rihana Sophia Dash

    2rd Prize - Prisha Kumar
    3rd Prize - Anthony Fuzaylov

    Terrific Teens - 13-18 years old
    1st - Adele Fuzaylov 

    2nd prize-  Advait Bhowmik
    3rd prize - Ethan Nguyen

    Awesome Artists - 19 years and above
    1st prize - Sneha Swaminathan 
    2rd prize - Grishma Shah Gandhi
    3rd prize-  Nitika Kundra

    Congratulations to all the winners. 

    And others, please don't lose heart. It was a VERY close competition. Be proud of yourself and keep rocking! 

    Amita Rao, Cultural Chair, India Society of Worcester 

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