December 26, 2008 by Soma.

4th Anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004

Friday, December 26, 2008

In 2004 the seawater has come almost 1 kilometer inland (picture taken on 12/27/04 ~ 2 PM IST; almost  1day and 4 hours after the tsunami hit Vedaraniam)

This morning (in the United States, but it was four years ago the same time, in India) was just as cloudy and muggy here in Tallahassee as was in Vedaraniam on Sunday, December 26, 2004. Around 9:15 AM IST the skies went bit darker, house flies started to land in larger numbers (despite the fact it was middle of winter), the power went out suddenly (not a surprise) as we were having showers to get ready for our impending visit to Nattu Mada Mariamman Temple. Sweet pongal and regular lentil pongal were already prepared for the offering to the Godess.

All the siblings from our family had gathered on the day. We had abondanded the plan to visit to the beaches (What a God’s gift to our family!!) since during the previous weeks it had rained plenty and as Vedaraniam, Agasthiampalli, and Kodiakarai. And our soil swampy with lots of clay content made it unattractive for the kids and adults to the enjoy the beaches.

About 1/2 hour we heard in the TV News that there were some mild tremors in Chennai city. Just then we started to hear crowd noise on the streets and there was big commotion with people running on the streets shouting, “the sea is coming”, “the sea is coming (kadal varuthu, kadal varuthu). Thus started the day that will take several people in my town of Vedaraniam.I spent several minutes today thinking about how lucky we were and prayed for those who perished on that fateful day.

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December 6, 2008 by Soma.

Ramayanam and Krazzy4 Preformances

Fairview Middle School

International Gala

Saturday, Dec 6, 2008, 12:30 PM

On this day Members of India Association of Tallahassee participated in two events that were part of the International Gala and Fundraiser for Fairview Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida.

Our group redid the Ramayanam skit in English second time today (first at Riley House Museum) at the Cafetarium in Fairview Middle.

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November 16, 2008 by Soma.

Asian Coalition of Tallahassee

Participant | Volunteer | Sponsor Appreciation Dinner

The Asian Coalition of Tallahassee (ACT) invited all the performers, coordinators, sponsors, and volunteers of the Experience Asia Festival 2008 for an appreciation dinner at Lucy Ho’s restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida.

Over 100 people from all the member organizations came for the dinner.  It was a cold night with temperatures in the low forties. There was plenty of food prepared by the restaurant as well as potluck-style food brought by the members themselves. Due to the cold weather and small area people from various organizations mingled together freely exchanging conversation and ideas.

Several members of the India Association were present at the dinner including our own family. We took some rice pilaf to share. The Mayor and First Lady of Tallahassee as well as the newly elected FL House District 9 Representative was present. Everyone had a good time.

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November 15, 2008 by Soma.

11th Annual Cultural Glimpses of India

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Tallahassee, FL 32312

The 11th Annual Cultural Glimpses of India was celebrated on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at Lawton Chiles High School Auditorium, 7200 Lawton Chiles Lane, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

The program started at 4 PM with welcome speech by the President and recognition of Guest of Honor, The Supt of Leon Co School System. It was followed by two prayer songs and then our Ramayana play.

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