AURORA, Ill. (Diya TV) — Last Saturday evening, Aurora’s Movie Night in the Park had a never-before-seen theme — Bollywood dancers and music set the stage for the town’s first-ever Bollywood Night to celebrate the country’s rich and diverse culture just days ahead of India’s Independence Day.
Kukkapalli attended the event, which was presented by Aurora’s Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board, with his father to watch his sister perform in one of the four dance groups that was at the event.
“Roughly about 10,000 residents living in Aurora are of Indian Asian descent,” said Gautam Bhatia, chairman of Aurora’s Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board. “It is actually the fastest growing ethnic group in Aurora, primarily because of the proximity to Chicago, housing, low crime rate and good schools.”
It’s the same organization that coordinates with the city in hosting an annual Diwali festival, which drew scores of people in the thousands in only its second year last October.
“Our mission is to share the Indian culture and encourage Indian American to integrate in the American culture — bridge the gap,” Bhatia said. “An understanding of different cultures enriches one’s own experience in life,” Bhatia said. “At the end of the day we all have similar needs.”
The event featured a showing of “Om Shanti Om,” a popular Indian film that featured movie stars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.
“Shah Rukh Khan is India’s version of America’s Tom Cruise,” Bhatia said.
Indian cuisine at the event included onion pakoda, deep fried onion fritters, tandoori grilled chicken kebabs, samosa potato filled pastry and Indian chai, a brewed spice tea made with milk.
“Every state has its own rituals and customs in India,” said Roopa Anjanappa, a member of the Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board. “The northern and southern regions are different but everyone knows about one another’s ways. It’s the acceptance that puts us all together.”
Aurora’s mayor, Tom Weisner, was also on hand for the festivities. “If you look at Aurora’s history, it has always been a city of varied cultures,” he said.
The mayor and his wife, Marilyn, served as Peace Corp volunteers in the Solomon Islands during the 1980s.
“The different ethnicities are what make Aurora strong today. They have a great work ethic, value education and have become the fabric of America and Aurora,” the mayor said. “We were the guests in the Peace Corp and learned to appreciate other cultures as part of that experience.”
Information from The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
