Past Events

Ek Khoobsurat Shaam Gazal Ke Naam

Shri Sudhir Narain mesmerized the audience. Yet another feather in AILIV's cap for hosting a unique and unforgettable musical event!!

Shri Sudhir Narain of the Agra Gharana and Shri Avirodh Sharma on the Tabla mesmerized audiences from around New Jersey and New York for a time melding 5 hours. We started the concert around 7:30 pm and once Sudhirji started singing in his authoritative voice, time melted away. All of us were transported into another world, the world of Agra and Taj Mahal. The theme of his music was Love: both the divine kind and the worldly substitute. His singing of the great शायरी (Poetry) of Amir Khusro and Mirza Ghalib extolling love was ample display of his virtuosity. However, he dived into Bhajans and Ghazals with equal fervor. At times stunning in his sheer display of vocal excellence, and at times exhibiting subtlety without gimmickry, he showed us what a true Master operating at a supremely high level of artistry was capable of. For those of you who missed it, there are simply no words to adequately describe the experience. Only a CD or DVD may be a consolation. For those of you who attended, thank you for your patronage and we cannot do this without you.

TV Asia was there to film a portion of the concert and to get interviews with AILIV organizers and audience for a segment on AILIV, which was part of their Community Roundup broadcast on July 27th 2011.We wish to once again thank Mr. Nitin Maniar and Mrs. Madhvi Maniar for their generosity in bringing these high quality events to Livingston.


Here is an excerpt of the event:


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Santoor - Sitar Concert

“It was a treat to ear, mind, body and soul” was a general theme of comments received from the attendees of AILIV concert on Saturday May 21st 2011 at the Maniar Residence.  Our sincere gratitude to all the music lovers in attendance and a huge appreciation to the artists Kunal Gunjal on Santoor, Partha Sarathi Chatterjee on Sitar and Aditya Narayan Banerjee and Anil Khare on Tabla, as well as the Maniars for hosting yet another very successful event in their home.

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A Mohini Attam Dance Performance
by Priyadarshini Ghosh

We had an enchanting evening of Dance performance by Ms. Priyadarshini Ghosh on Saturday May 7th. Thanks to all the patrons and the Samantas for their generosity in hosting the event at their home and making it a great success!

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Holi Picnic

Our fourth Holi Picnic was organized on Sunday, May 4th 2011 at the Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, NJ. As expected, we had a large turnout of adults and children. There was a lot of excitement around cricket as well as a whole host of children's activities. Children from Sanskriti did very well in raising funds for their favorite charities. Our Thandai was made from scratch by Priti and was a great hit.

Please click here to see some photos from the event.

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Dakshin Mahotsav

April is the month of New Year celebrations in many parts of India, especially the South. People in Kerala celebrate it as 'Vishu' usually on the 14th of April 2011;  Andhraiites and Kannadigas call it 'Ugadi' while the Tamilians celebrate it as 'Puthandu'. AILIV celebrated via festivities held on Saturday, April 16, 2011.

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Diwali Gala 2010

Our 3rd Annual Dance/ Dinner Fundraiser held on Saturday evening, November 13, 2010 was a great success with great musical performances, food and special programs for children.
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Mangal Dhwani

What a spectacular Shehnai - Sitar Jugalbandi  organized on Sunday morning, October 31, 2010! Glorious 5 hours of Indian classical music!

Here is a short video clip. Enjoy!

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Garba Raas 2010 organized on Saturday, October 9th at the Livingston High School Auxiliary Gymnasium  was a huge success as evidenced by large turnout, great music & dance, food and the overall atmosphere.

Please click here for more details.
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Indian Mela (Fair) organized on Sunday, September 26, 2010 

AILIV hosted its second Annual Mela, called INDIA FEST 2010,  on Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the West Essex YMCA grounds in Livingston.  Attended by over 1300 people, the festival was huge success. Festivities were attended by a wide cross-section of people representing various nationalities and sub-identities. People of Indian origin came from far off places. Both the food vendors did brisk business. Cultural shows were of superb quality and drew a lot of dedicated onlookers. Please click here to watch a video clip posted on Livingston Patch. For a description of the event by the Patch, please click here. The West Essex Tribune in its September 30, 2010 edition carried out a very colorful banner depicting the India Fest festivities. Please click here to see their write-up.

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A very successful first ever India Immersion Summer Camp

AILIV, in collaboration with the West Essex Y, concluded its India Immersion Summer Camp on Friday August 27 - the first ever Indian cultural summer camp for children organized in this region. The two week camp (August 16-20, 23-27) provided a safe and fun environment for children to gain knowledge and better understand Indian culture and values as well as build self-esteem, confidence, and pride in their ethnic heritage. Please click here to read on for more details.

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Diwali Dinner & Dance Night

AILIV organized yet another successful event - its second Diwali gala on October 24, 2009 at the Ramada Inn in East Hanover, NJ. We had over 250 adults and children in attendance. Besides great food and Live DJ, we had a magician entertaining children. We used this opportunity to raise some relief funds for the victims of the recent floods in India. We are happy to report that we will be able to donate $1,000 to Goonj, a non-profit organization involved in relief work in the flood affected areas. For more details about this event, please click here.

For some photos of the event, please click here.

Diwali Mela

AILIV hosted its first Diwali Mela on October 4, 2009 at the YMCA grounds in Livingston from 11 am to 5 pm. What a spectacular Mela it turned out to be! We had great weather and a continuous flow of people. By all counts, there were at least 1000 visitors. Various artists ,including children, put up great shows; food stalls did brisk business; our free health clinics stayed busy; the Handicrafts stalls and the Mehndi stalls did well too. Click here to view some pictures from the mela. Click here to view video clips of various cultural performances

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Gandhi Jayanti Celebrations at the Livingston Public Library

AILIV celebrated Gandhi Jayanti in collaboration with the Livingston Public Library on October 3, 2009. As part of the celebrations, we organized two 30 minute story sessions in the children section of the Library from 3 pm to 4 pm. We also have a Gandhi display in the Library. The display will be hosted through the end of October.

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Garba Night

On Friday September 18th, AILIV hosted a hugely successful Garba and Dandia Raas night at the Livingston YMCA. Please go to Past Events section to read more about it and to watch some video clips. Click here to read a nice coverage of the event by West Essex Tribune on September 24, 2009 on their front page.

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Food Drive

AILIV was featured in the West Essex Tribune for organizing a successful food drive for the Community Food Bank in Hillside, NJ. AILIV members donated more than 140 items, and volunteered more than 3 hours at the Food bank on July 25th.

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2008 Events

Mumbai Vigil
Memorial Day Parade
New Residents' Picnic
Summer Picnic
Diwali Dinner and Dance
Asian-American Awareness Month
Voter Registration

2009 Events

Holi Picnic
Memorial Day Parade
Food Drive
Volunteering at the Community Food Bank
Camping Trip
Indian Classical Music Concert
New Residents' Picnic (September 14, 2009)