Every year, the Dallas area Desi community hosts one of its biggest events, the Diwali Mela. For the last few years, the Diwali Mela was held in the Texas Stadium in Irving and this year its going to be at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The event is on November 5th, 2011. 4pm to Midnight. This year they organizers are expecting over 100,000 people to show up for this event. Some of the attractions planned for this year are

• Ram Leela performance
• Versatile Bollywood Singer Mika and Anouska Manchanda will entertain
• Elephant And Camel Rides
• Special Kids corner with bouncy house, magicians, train rides, puppet show, etc.
• Petting Zoo with 45 animals for kids
• Separate Food Court
• Laser Show
• Raas Garba
• Ravan Dahan

Indian Ocean is currently on tour across the US and the UK. On the 17th of September, they performed at the Granville Arts Center in Garland to help raise money for the Ram Mandir in Plano.

The Granville Arts Center is a reasonable small venue and seats between 500 and 600 people so it had a very personal touch to it. The show pretty much started on time when the 3 members of Indian Ocean, Amit, Rahul and Susmit along with two supporting members Himanshu Joshi and Tuheen Chakravarty (filling in for Asheem who passed away in 2009) started the show with Khajuraho.

The entire show went for about 2 hours and they played most of their popular songs like Ma Rewa, Hille Le Jhakjor, Leaving Home from their Kandisa album. They played some songs from their new album 16/330 Khajoor Road. They have also done music for Bollywood movies and played a couple of songs from Black Friday and Peepli Live.

The next Konkani Sammelan is coming back to its birthplace in New Jersey after 16 years and we have the privilege to celebrate sweet sixteen of the Sammelan! It will be hosted at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, NJ from June 29-July 1, 2012 (Fri-Sun). Please mark your calendars and save the dates.


The North East region was finalized for hosting the 2012 Konkani Sammelan only in May 2011. Since then, we have raced against time to put together a dedicated and motivated team of volunteers for organizing this mega event. The team's vision is to host the best Konkani Sammelan to date and provide all attendees with outstanding cultural and entertainment programs, seminars, authentic and sumptuous Konkani food, social and professional networking opportunities, youth and children events.

Edison, NJ is at the heart of Indian and Konkani community in the North East. It is approximately 25 miles south west of New York City. The area is serviced by three major airports; the nearest airport being Newark, NJ (airport code EWR). The NJ Convention Center is an ideal place for holding the Sammelan, as it is NJ's largest private venue with modern facilities to host big entertainment programs, meetings, vendor booths, and has a huge dining area. We have negotiated exclusive discounted rates with Sheraton and Hilton Garden hotels in Edison, which are near the Convention Center. Details on hotels in the vicinity, room rates, and how to make hotel reservations will be published on our website.


The theme for our Konkani Sammelan 2012, very aptly, is: "Connecting Konkanis, Heart to Heart, Home away from Home". The various Konkani associations in North America and events like the biennial Konkani Sammelan are indeed catalysts for us to connect with our fellow Konkanis, culture, traditions, language and of course to enjoy our food. For our children and the youth growing up in North America, and also for adults and seniors, the Sammelan promises to be a great cultural experience and retreat, home away from home. We are aspiring for and expecting around 2000 Konkanis under one roof for 3 days in this upcoming Sammelan. This in itself should make us all Konkanis very proud!


In 2012, as July 4th holiday in the US falls on Wednesday, we decided to hold the Sammelan on the earlier weekend, as this would give out-of-town attendees chance to take advantage of the short week ahead for extended vacation with friends and relatives or touring the incredible North East region. More information on nearby sight-seeing areas and tourist attractions will be published on our website.

Come and celebrate India's Independence Day at 35th Anand Bazaar 2011 Organized by India Association of North Texas (IANT) with the help of many local businesses and the DFW Community. India Association of North Texas (IANT) brings to you 35th Annual ANAND BAZAAR 2011, celebrating India's Independence Day on Saturday August 13th, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.

There will be a number of booths selling Desi stuff like spicy Indian Chaat, apparel, accessories and what not. There is the ceremonial Independence day parade with Indian and US flags. There is live music events, cultural events and a nice fireworks show at night.

This place is a fun filled event and attracts a big crowd every year. It's been going on for quite a few years now.