The Desai Family Foundation and the Peabody Essex Museum will be hosting its annual "Sensational India!" on April 10th and 11th. The Peabody Essex Museum comes alive every April with the sounds of the sitar and tablas, the aroma of South Asian cuisine and the color and vitality of Indian music and dance. Sensational India! highlights internationally acclaimed and emerging artists, writers and political thinkers. The festival also heralds the opening of a new exhibition each spring from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection of Contemporary Indian Art.
Explore India's rich culture and history at America's premier international destination for Indian art and culture.
The show will feature:
- Several different Indian dance performances and workshops
- Indian food cooking demonstrations
- Films and lecture by filmmaker James Ivory
- Art activities, storytelling, and fun for the whole family
- Do spread the word to anyone you think would enjoy the sights, sounds and culture of India!
DONT MISS IT! ALL AGES ARE WELCOME!
Sensational India!
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, Massachusetts
April 10-11th, 2010
Sensational India! 2010 Schedule
Yoga in Philosophy and Practice
10:30 AM - noon Saturday and Sunday
Align your mind and body through the time-tested tradition of yogic contemplation and practice. Iyengar yoga teacher Kofi Busia has been teaching in this tradition for more than 35 years. He began his study of yoga as a student at Oxford and has taught professionally since. studying and teaching at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, Maharashtra, South India. He also has studied and taught Sanskrit and Indian philosophy.Busia is editor of Iyengar: The Yoga Master and is working on a translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali.
Textiles and Fashion
11 AM -noon Saturday
Shelley Chhabra, designer and bridal fashion consultant, talks about teh changing role of the sari in Indian and Western fashion, tracing its movements through popular culture, the influence of Bollywood, and the appearance of Indian fashions on the red carpets of Hollywood.
Simply Sweet Indian Desserts
11 AM - noon Saturday and Sunday
Chef Shruti Mehta prepares an array of sweets not found in restaurants, demonstrating how dairy ingredients and fruits are integrated into Indian cuisine.
Extraordinary Woman from Popular Indian Stories
11 AM and 3 PM Saturday and Sunday
Storytelling performer Surabi Shah spins dramatic, interactive tales of heroines and powerful women.
Natya Dance Theatre Performance
Noon and 4 PM Saturday and Sunday
Chicago-Based Natya Dance Theatre presents excerpts of its signature work Shakti Chakra (The Cycle of Energy), a philosophical look at the cyclical nature of life through the classical medium of Bharatanatyam, and Margam (Path), a work that explores a soul's journey in life as a friend,a young lover, and a spiritual entity.
Sari Styles
Saturday and Sunday noon-4 PM
Designer Shelley Chhabra and staff display various sari styles and designs, and invite you to try on a sari, wear different styles of wrapping, and model it for the cameras.
Step Inside the Story - Dance Workshop with Natya
Saturday 1-1:45 PM
In this interactive workshop, dancers from Natya teach a contemporary approach to Bharatanatyam, the classical Indian dance style. Warm up with yoga postures and basic rhythmic foot patterns, gradually adding hand gestures, eye movements, and poses.
James Ivory Film: Shakespeare Wallah
Saturday, 5:00 - 7:15 PM
A troupe of English actors performers Shakespeare throughout India, and through them we see the country evolve.
James Ivory Film: The Sword and the Flute
Noon-12:30 PM Sunday
Short documentary tracing the history of Indian miniature painting after the Moghul invasion as it develops into two schools.
James Ivory Film: The Autobiography of a Princess
12:30-1:30 PM Sunday
An Indian princess living in London invites her father's former tutor to a tea party to celebrate a happier past, finding that their perspectives on the past are not in agreement.
Parker Lecture: Filmmaker James Ivory
2:30-4:00 PM Sunday
Six-time Academy Award winning dilm director James Ivory in conversation about his career and history with Merchant Ivory productions.
Women's Health Seminar Series
The Desai Family Foundation (DFF) is pleased to announce a complimentary interactive seminar series to help raise awareness on women’s health issues - common disease themes and best in class treatment recommendations.
November Seminar:
Early Detection & Prevention of Women's Cancer
The seminar, led by subject matter experts, will focus on the facts, importance and methodology of screening and early detection for the diagnosis, and prevention of women's cancer. Key seminar focus topics include:
o Types of women’s cancer – breast, uterine, cervical, ovarian
o Genetic, demographic, lifestyle, and related factors specific to the South Asian community
o Early screening, detection, and prevention
o Health Care resources for testing, diagnosis, treatment, and support
This interactive lecture and group discussion forum is designed to be personal, engaging and informative - bringing you the latest preventive research in the most practical format. If you or someone you know is concerned, or has a family history of cancer, we encourage you to take the time to better understand how you can succeed with early detection and prevention of this life-threatening disease.
When: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
Where: 128 Wheeler Road, Burlington, MA 01803
Panelists
Purnima Sangal, MD, FACOG Janaki Vardhan, MD, FACS
Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgeon General & Breast Surgeon
President, A Women's Place, Chelmsford MA Meeting House, Chelmsford, MA
Hansa Community Development Center
Early in 2005, the Desai Family Foundation, along with the Sri Yoganand Saraswati Education and Medical Relief Trust (the Trust) embarked on an ambitious plan to develop and operate the Hansa Community Development Center (the Center.) We are pleased to report that construction for the Center is complete, and the Center fully operational! Many outreach meetings have resulted in the recruitment of a number of volunteers, and establishment of key committees. With hopes to empower the community, we have implemented vocational training classes and opened up the town’s first computer center. For more details of this program and to see how you can get involved please see: Hansa Community Development Center.
