Hasya Kavi Sammelan, Atlanta:
A perfectly brewed concoction of Laughter and Emotions

by - Shilpa Agrawal

Atlanta Hasya Kavi Sammelan, 2018 served it’s yet another perfectly brewed concoction of laughter and emotions on Sunday, May 6th at Berkmar High School, Lilburn, Georgia. Like its pre-cursor episodes, Atlanta Hindi Association (A Group of Hindi Speaking Friends) and International Hindi Association, under the motivating leadership of its director Sanjeev Agarwal, meticulously worked on bringing India’s top most poets of the genre to Atlanta’s front door. People of all ages and socio-economic spheres of Atlanta swarmed to witness this sold-out and much anticipated event. Going by the logistics, this successful event was able to captivate about 500 people and was attended by over 100 children.

This time the three poetic gems that were mined from India were famed humorist and Laughter challenge winner Gaurav Sharma, melodious vocalist and Ghazal Singer Dr Sonroopa Vishal ji, brilliant satirist and Yash Bharati awardee, Smile Man Sarvesh Asthana ji. These poets of excellence kept the audience tucked in their seats enjoying a mélange of characters, anecdotes and reflections all the while bristling with contagious laughter and energy. It was an audio-visual treat to enjoy the resonance that lies within words. The glimmer of the poets was alike whether it was to accumulate depth of emotion or to create a laughter Tsunami. Nostalgia poured in as laughter bound people revisited antics and anecdotes from the past to bring that long forgotten smile or laughter back to them.

Event began with hors d oeuvres in the evening to satiate people’s taste buds before getting into the laughter phenomenon. The program was initiated with a beautiful devotional rendering by kids of ages 5-13, from HindiUSA Cumming Hindi school. Introduction of poets by little children was an achievement in itself as they confidently presented the poets to the audience.

Mr. D.V. Singh, Consul of the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, and other guest invitees attended the event.
Sarvesh Asthana took the stage first to fill the venue with the fluidity of his laughter. He ensured that all funny bones are tickled with his tongue-in-cheek humor and satires alike in the forthcoming hours. Gaurav Sharma was equally successful in engaging the audience with his frivolous and light-hearted humor. Sonroopa Vishal enthralled the audience with her nightingale voice and thought-provoking poetry. Her rendering of her father Urmilesh’s poem “Ladkiyaan” carried a tremendous body of philosophy. The poets were able to transport audiences from the state of “being” and “not being” to “being” and “becoming” with their subtle reminders of social causes tempered with laughter, satire and humor.

Each year, Atlanta Hindi Association recognizes motivating personalities from South East Asian Community in Atlanta area. This year, spotlights were turned to ever charming “Camera Girl of Atlanta – Anjali Chhabaria for her excellent service in the field of Art and entertainment to the South East Asian Community.

The organizers of this event ensured that kids of all ages are creatively engaged while the parents can enjoy a relaxed evening with the assurance that their kids are having fun. Art class, face painting, henna tattoos, and snacks were arranged to keep the kids entertained.
This event was made successful by the untiring efforts of a team of volunteers, including Abhinav Dehariya, Amit and Arika Agarwal, Amit and Ruchi Chaurasiya, Anand Verma, Alok Agrawal, Anuj K Jain, Ashu Rahar, Ashwani Srivastava, Gaurav Jain, Hemant Jerath, Karan Garg, Khushboo Modi, Manish and Richa Sinha, Manjari Agarwal, Manu and Mansi Agarwal, Mukesh Garg, Mustafa Ajmeri, Nishant and Richa Kansal, Pankaj Sharma, Pawandeep and Nidhi Pipal, Pradeep and Parul Gupta, Preeti Tiwari, Premal and Jinal Shah, Rajesh and Meera Agarwal, Rakesh Yadav, Ram Narayan Singh, Ram and Brish Upadhyaya, Ranjan and Reena Pathania, Sachid Shukla, Sandhya and Anil Bhagat, Sanjeev Agarwal and Dipti Gupta, Shree, Raj and Prachi Vohra, Siddhartha and Saloni Agarwal, Vineet Gupta, Vishal and Nidhi Agarwal and kid volunteers included Anish, Ansh, Arushi, Atharv, Ayan, Dhruv, , Divyansh, Eashan, Kalpana, Manya, Ojal, Pramiti, Pratyaksh, Samvar, Sanchay, Sanvi, Shivali, Shivam, Shreyansh, Tanvi Gujral, Tanvi Singhal and Vaidehi.
 

The event was sponsored and supported by Suvidha Groceries, MyOrlandostay.com, Sitar Indian Cuisine, Prime CPA, Café Bahar, ABC Renovations, Beauty Bar Salon, Peachtree Dental, Ruby Beauty Parlor, Shri Ram Imports, GA InfoTech, Anuj K Jain Photography, Om Arora (Tax and Insurance), Dr. Deepak and Shilpi Das, EIS Technology, Agarwal Samaj of Georgia, Shiv Mandir of Atlanta, BAJA Atlanta and Sovi Salon (Jones creek).
The Media Partners of this Event are Atlanta Dunia, Wow Now, Khabar, TV Asia and NRI Pulse.

This event was hugely successful in capturing the dynamism of laughter/hasya which looms in horizon in today’s busy life but never comes closer. Atlanta Hindi Association was able to bring it to us, beyond the narrative, in the realm of reality and promises to keep bringing this laughter spectacle back to Atlanta every year drizzled with fresh aromas.