Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know Friends Of MP (Madhya Pradesh) Celebrates Annual Picnic C lose to 300 people attended the annual picnic of Friends of Mad- hya Pradesh NewYork New Jersey (www.FriendsofMPNYNJ.com ) Sunday, September 14, 2025, at Rosedale Park in Pennington, New Jersey. This Picnic tradition started in 2015. The Picnic had close to full participa- tion, with many families on the wait-list, organizers said in a press release Like every year, authentic Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) food made on location, and cultural and traditional activities were the highlights of the fun and activity- filled day. The breakfast consisted of Indore’s traditional Poha, Jalebi and Saboo Dana Wada. For lunch, M.P.’s food delicacy Poori, Shrikhand and Halwa were served by the volunteers. Midday snack was Kulfi Falooda. The venue was decked to celebrate the theme of ‘Malwa Mela’, a famous region of MP with Indore-Ujjain-Mandu, housing ethnic picture booths and placards. All at- tendees had name labels that included the name of the town they hailed from. That resulted in reconnecting with classmates from schools, colleges, and native towns. To ensure that first time attendee fami- lies felt welcome, their name labels had distinct colors so all could immediately know and interact with them accordingly to make them feel welcome. Special all-day activities were planned by the volunteers for small children and seniors, including Twisted Antakshari, Twisted Musical Chairs. The “Flameless Cooking Contest of Father-Child” was a Big Hit. India’s Deputy Consul General in New York, Vishal Harsh was the guest, and spent 3 hours interacting with families. Friends of MPNYNJ has been organiz- ing the annual picnic and other events since 2015. Managed totally by volun- teers, the organization’s sold-out picnic has become a reunion for people from M.P. Some of the volunteers who organized and managed the event were Families of Amit Mishra, Akhilesh Ladha, Shaman Jain, Kapil Samadhiya, Manoj Kulseja, Jitendra Muchhal, Rajesh Mittal, Raj Bansal, Ajit Jain, Ashish Vijayvargiya, Sanjay Modi, Anand Rai, Nikhil Sharma, Lavanya Vyas, Sonal Shukla, Surya Sharma and several others. By a StaffWriter PHOTOS:FRIENDS OF MP Hundreds of people hailing from Madhya Pradesh, India, came to enjoy the annual picnic, held this year on Sept. 14, 2025, at Rosedale Park in Pennington, NJ. Delicacies from Madhya Pradesh were served at the Sept. 14, 2025 Friends of MP picnic. Attendees having a fun time at Friends of MP Picnic. India’s Deputy Consul General in New York Vishal Harsh at Friends of MP Picnic with some of Volunteers Indian Masters – Honoring Zakir Hussain R obert Browning Associates opens the fall season with master violinist/vocalist/composer L. Shankar (aka Shenkar), who is renowned for his deeply soulful performances of Indian classi- cal music. Since playing his first solo concert at the age of seven, he has gone on to accompany many of South India’s leading vocalists and become a major soloist. In the 1970s, with John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram and Ramnad Raghavan, he co- founded the legendary Indo-jazz group Shakti. In the 1980s, he introduced a 10-string double violin capable of covering the whole range of the orchestra’s string sec- tion from violin to double bass. To date he has continued to expand the international audience for Indian music, often combining North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) styles. He will be accompanied by V. Selvaganesh (mri- dangam – double-headed barrel drum, kanjira – small frame drum, konakkol – vocal percussion), the revered percussionist who was a member of Remember Shakti and toured with Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion; Amit Kavthekar, who studied with Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain, and is regarded as one of the top-ranking tabla (tuned hand drums) players of his generation; and Swaminathan Selvaganesh (kanjira, konakkol), who has been lauded as one of the top kanjira players of his generation. The program is being presented in honor of the great late tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, a giant in Indian and world music. Made possible in part with a grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation. Community sponsor: Sneh Arts. By Extracts from Press Release Collage provided by organizers 5 CITY VIEWS September 19, 2025