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Greater Atlanta Telangana Society Launch

Greater Atlanta Telangana Society Launch

Telangana Community, Inc. started in Atlanta has grown leap and bounds to serve the Telanganite Community of Atlanta.

The organization evolved to a brand new name as Greater Atlanta Telangana Society (GATeS for short) and a new logo to reflect the new and reinvigorated spirit and cultural identify of Telangana was unveiled on Saturday, Mar 14, 2015 at Taste of India Banquet Hall.

The formation of Telangana, the 26th state of India - a culmination of 6 decades of struggle - brought along with it new hopes coupled with new sense of responsibility among every NRI Telanganite across the globe.

The Telanganites in Atlanta and all over the world have awakened to this new challenge and are responding with renewed dedication as was shown at this event. 

The banquet in Taste of India restaurant was attended by a packed crowd of over 500 exceeding the seated capacity with many standing in and outside the hall.

People that cheered the event came not only from local Atlanta and nearby cities in Georgia, but also from California, New Jersey, Washington DC, Dallas, Alabama, Florida and California. 

The celebration started with invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by singing the Telangana State song (Jaya Jaya He Telangana Jananee Jaya Ketanam…) and paying homage to martyrs of Telangana.

Head of Chancery Sri R. Srinivasan of Indian Consulate in Atlanta along with Board CHAIRMAN Dr Sreeni Gangasani and President Venkat Veeraneni unveiled the new name GATeS and its new Logo (encircling Ekasila Toranam – the famous Single Stone Arch of Kakatiya rulers). Sri Srinivasan expressed his happiness to be part of the unveiling and wished the organization to do more service oriented projects. 

Dr. Gangasani announced the need of name change to move ahead with the new evolution of the state while Dr. Veeraneni welcomed the cheering crowd. Dr. Gangasani also gave a brief idea of TCI and its Community Service Projects conducted in India and outlined the contribution TCI to the Society.

Telangana folk Singers – Janardhan Pannela & Srinivas Durgam set the tone of the evening and added color, melody and sparks with many performances. The star entertainer of the evening – Mimicry Ramesh - the renowned mimicry artist of Telangana enthralled the audience with his mastery. He sang, imitated the stars and politicians, shared his life's moments and reminded people of their duties and responsibilities to the needy back home. Audience of all groups wanted more of him and Ramesh honored the crowed by coming a second time to do everything again and more. 

While two young girls performed a devotional dance -Subramanya Ashtakam to the delight of everybody, more girls and women did a colorful harvest dance showing gratitude to mother Earth to the tune of Janardhan Pannela singing ‘Nelamma Nelamma Nelammaa Neeku Vela Vela Vandanalamma…’ of Suddala Ashok Teja. As if taking a cue from this, kids under 10 tapped their feet with a patriotic piece waving the tricolor. Amika Nagara sang wonderfully to remind everybody the breadth and depth of cultural talent from the community 

Leaders of various organizations attended the event to extend their support and solidarity – Telangana Development Forum (TDF), Telugu Association of North America (TANA), American Telugu Association (ATA), North America Telugu Association (NATA), North America Telugu Society (NATS), Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta (TAMA), Greater Atlanta Telugu Association (GATA), Friends of Atlanta, Indian Friends of Atlanta and Atlanta Telugu Friends. 

Chandra Mohan Nellutla, Anjaiah Chowdhary Lavu, Venkat Meesala, Girish Meka, Murali Reddy, T.R. Reddy, Srinivas Peddi, Goutham Goli, Sunil Savili, Vishweshwar Reddy Kalvala, Bala Reddy Indurti, Anil Bodireddy, Bharath Neravetla, spoke on the occasion and blessed the Organization. 

The organizers showed their appreciation for the support of sponsors. Dr Gopal Rao for sponsoring the Logo, Narasimha Rao of H2K Infosys for funding the banquet and numerous donors that contributed at various levels. Viju Chiluveru presented the huge list of sponsors and thanked for their continued support to the Organization over the years. Past presidents Rathnakar Eluganti and Srijan Joginapally were honored for their self-less dedicated work to the Organization and to the Community.

The event would not have been so meticulously executed without the support of untiring volunteers of Telangana, Executive Committee, Board of Directors and vaious Committees – S.P. Reddy, Kiran Pasam, Madhu Tata, Jagan Mohan Rao, Mohan Reddy, Laxma Reddy, Murali Reddy, Satyanarayana Reddy Tangirala, Mahesh Nilagiri, Prabhakar Boyapalli, Srijan Joginapalli, Viju Chiluveru, Narender Reddy, Karunakar & Prashanti Asireddy, Satish Cheti, Nanda Chatla, Suresh K. Volam, Vivek Reddy, Prashanth Paripati, Satish Nandala, Janardhan Pannela, Rahul, Jagadeesh Cheemarla, Ratnakar Elugunti, Srinivas Avula, Pavani Putta, Rama Chari, Venkat, Madhurima, Aneesh, Venkata Parupalli, Ranjith Ganta, Venu Pisike and Anil Bodireddy.

Sridhar Reddy Vakiti of Vakiti Creations as usual extended his support to capture the golden moments – by Photos and Videos along with his dedicated team. Taste of India added elegance to the event while Suresh Karothu and his tem provided excellent Sound System and DJ. 

Dr. Sreeni Gangasani  Board Chariman
Dr. Venkat Veeraneni  President

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