Bengalees of New England - Saraswati Puja 2008

Students of Smt Kumkum Sanyal:

Shraddha Agrawal

Shraddha received her initial training in Hindustani vocal
classical music beginning at a young age as she was growing
up in Mumbai, India. She holds a Sangeet Vishaarad degree
from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad. She has performed
locally at classical, Bhajan and light music programs. Shraddha
is also an accomplished harmonium player. For the past few
years Shraddha has been receiving advanced training in vocal
classical music from Shrimati Kumkum Sanyal.

Shraddha is a Business Systems Analyst by profession.

Prahlad Cielappagari

Prahlad was awarded several state level awards in light and
devotional music in Andhra Pradesh, including the best singer
award for two years at Osmania University. He was an A-Grade
artist in All India Radio and TV in the light music division.
Prahlad is continuing his training in Hindustani classical music
under Shrimati Kumkum Sanyal.

Prahlad holds a Ph.D. and is a scientist working in the
pharmaceutical industry.

Suzana Naik

Suzana is from is from the city of Pune in India and has been
receiving Hindustani classical training from Shrimati Kumkum
Sanyal for several years. Suzana has performed locally at
several Bhajan and light music programs.

Suzana holds Masters Degrees in Finance, Marketing and
Information Systems and is a senior management executive by
profession.

Ujjwal Parikh

Ujjwal was born in Calcutta, India in a music loving family. His
maternal uncle is an accomplished vocalist and a disciple of Pt.
Jasraj. Ujjwal started receiving his training in classical music
from a very young age. After moving to the US, he continued
his training under the tutelage of Shrimati Kumkum Sanyal.
Ujjwal has performed at several classical and Bhajan programs.

Ujjwal is a Software Engineer by profession.

Accompanied on the Tabla by

Akshay Navaladi

Born into a family of classical music lovers, Akshay started his
training in Tabla when he was 7 years old. Akshay has won
numerous awards including the "Ugadhi Purashkara" award for
child prodigies by the Madras Telugu Academy at Chennai,
inter-school as well as national level competitions such as the
All India Competitions of Music and Dance organized by the
Navya Nataka Academy at Hyderabad. He had the honor of
performing on Doordarshan, and has accompanied both
Hindustani and Carnatic music artistes for the last several years
in India and abroad. Akshay had the honor of performing at the
Asian music festival held at Kyrgyzstan in 2002, and in France
and Canada in youth exchange programs in 2003 and 2004
respectively. Akshay was featured in the "Young Achievers"
column of the "The Hindu" newspaper in India. He is currently
performing extensively in and around Boston, Massachusetts
and has been described as "Tabla Thunder", with "Magic on his
fingers." by regional newspapers. He is continuing his training
with Ustaad Akram Khan of Delhi/Ajrara gharana.

Akshay is currently a student at Boston University, and is
pursuing his BS in Biomedical Engineering.

Puja	10:30 am
Anjali/Hate Khori (Note: Hate Khori: Parents must bring slate, paper and pencil as appropriate)	12 noon
Lunch	1:30 pm
Variety Program (Local Artists) Invited Artists: Students of Smt. Kumkum Sanyal	4 pm
Dinner	6:30 pm
Variety Program	8 pm