Baltimore bound

The fourth of July weekend is marked annually by the largest gathering of Bengalis in the world. Banga Sammelan is a mega event attended by Bengalis all over North America. The 3 day festival transforms any locale to Kolkata. 2005 was the first time I attended Banga Sammelan in New York City. I was too stressed out seeing people change sarees at every meal. To top it I climbed the Empire state building thinking I was beating the crowds. That was the day I learnt my lesson;never to do anything but dance on show day.Over the years I have perfected this balancing act of dancing, sightseeing and changing sarees.
Like Atlantic City,Inner harbour, Baltimore was transformed into another street of Kolkata with ladies displaying their beautiful sarees & glittering jewelry. We too joined the fashion parade all dolled up teasing one another,chatting non-stop in Bengali and browsing the Indian stores. To the delight of my family,I have now turned into an avid Bengali movie watcher. Meeting acclaimed director Sandeep Ray, actress Raima Sen, singers Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu was the highlight of our stay.I was glad to be in tune with the movie scene.
It was 2 days of non-stop fun. Hanging out with friends until the wee hours of morning,listening to Indian music and watching cultural shows. Luckily we were scheduled to perform in the afternoon. There was barely enough time to grab coffee & breakfast before the gruelling dance preparations started. The dances went well and the costume changes were perfectly timed.Performance over, once again we joined the crowd in our new sarees,getting into the spirit of the festival.
It was an ideal combination of dance & socializing.It felt like the last day of puja once the closing ceremony was over. Unless you attend these events you never realize the enthusiasm of the diaspora who put so much passion to keep a part of their culture alive.