When culture, charisma, and the crackling sounds of chunky ornate jewelry worn by Indian peasant women meet the men folk of a village attired in colorful “kurtis” and “sarongs” and carrying wooden sticks to maneuver the stray animals of the village, mental chatter breaks loose and rhapsody begins. To cap it all, the sound produced by the “dhol” (Indian drums) allure all the passersby in the village to gather and celebrate the birth of the new season – known in the state of Punjab, the festival is Vaisakhi. On Saturday, April 26, 2025, festive-costumed children, adults, and senior citizens took to the stage to perform and showcase their native folk-dance talents to two delegates of Virginia, David Bulova of Fairfax County and J.J. Singh of Loudoun County, at the Government Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Children, women, and men recreated what goes on in Punjab when the harvest season begins.
They received a lot of applause from the audience. The loud music brought the house of over 250 people to sing along and clap incessantly to acknowledge the goodness of life and the bold moves of the performers. Of course, it goes without saying that behind all these movements were the dedicated volunteers who knocked on doors to get the two delegates elected. They were ready to partake in the special heritage-related activities of the people of Virginia. The volunteers were these hard-working ladies: Sapna Rohatgi, Preeti Singh, Shashi Anand, and Mahima Tewari, who work with the “Mere Apne” program to keep senior citizens and their families involved in several activities all throughout the year. The catered Indian lunch was prepared by Dhoom Restaurant and was appealing and delicious.
The audience had an opportunity to learn about some of the bills undertaken by the delegates on important issues related to public safety, the use and abuse of toxic drugs, and the employment and re-employment of people who had recently become unemployed. The event was organized under the general guidance of the management of Durga Temple of Virginia, chaired by Dr. Suresh C. Gupta. He decorated the delegates and heartily welcomed the performers and families residing in Virginia and in metropolitan Washington, D.C.
