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Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), charitable and educational organization dedicated to educating and promoting the culture of South Asia to the general public, specifically non-South Asians, and assisting the less fortunate through community service.
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| On the eve of March 11, 2000, the stage at Walt Whitman High School came alive with extravagant songs and dances from all over South Asia. Sponsored by the Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO), the event featured cultural performances from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to a mixed audience of non-South Asians and South Asians. Maryland Congresswoman Connie Morella was present, and the evening was enhanced by her encouraging keynote address on non-violence, culture and hardworking teens. The program also included special guests such as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Sri Lanka Embassy, Mr. Ariyaratne Wijewardane and the Consular for Press and Information of the India Embassy, Mr. Navtej Sarna.
The show introduced a new format: a fictitious plane ride through three South Asian countries. Ahimsa Youth Organization members Pia Chowdry, Preshona Ghose, and Sahil Sanghvi piloted the ride by narrating the entire show. Each item was introduced by a description of the performance, country of origin and educational facts of the region visited. Says Sahil Sanghvi, "Being the Master of Ceremony at this type of a cultural event gave me the first hand feeling of educating the public."
Air Ahimsa, the fictional name of the airplane first made a stop at Bangladesh, where Moureen and Uparna Barua performed a traditional Bangladeshi village folk dance. The plane remained in Bangladesh for the next two numbers, a modern dance composed by the great Bengali poet, Rabindranath Tagore, and a poetic dance by the popular Kazi Nazrul Islam performed by Pullak Rosario.
Moving right along, the plane entered the Indian peninsula. Rajasthan, the first state introduced, featured a traditional folk dance by Rachna Goel, Nisha Aggarwal, and Shilpi Maheshwari. The dance, "Nimbooda", was adopted from the hit blockbuster hindi film, "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam".
After a breathtaking Bharata Natyam dance performed by Sumita Nair, Sonia Sekhar and
Archana Unnithan, the plane headed south to Sri Lanka to refuel. As plane the plane took a brief break in it's journey, audience members relaxed during intermission with an opportunity to sample South Asian food and quiz themselves through educational powerpoint slides ("the in-flight movie") put together by AYO members. While in Sri Lanka, the MC's introduced a variety of original dance performances, including a colorful Vannam Peacock dance and a rural folk dance with waterpots. The Sri Lankan items also included a sensational musical performance by Gayathri Kanishka Senaratne, who sang traditional and patriotic songs from Sri Lanka. As the flight continued, the passengers were taken to the Indian state of Gujarat, where the traditional Dandia dance was performed to another song from "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", "Dholi Taro Dhol Baje". Speaking of movies, the last stop for Air Ahimsa was in Mumbai, otherwise known as Bollywood, India's Hollywood city. The performance in this city featured the Killah B's - A professional Bollywood dance group. Similar to the Backstreet Boys, |
N'Sync, and other professional musical
entourages, Fredy Gomes, Rocky Pender, Romeo Pender, Andrew Sarkar, and Ron Serrao mesmerized the audience with their "hip-shaking" dances to two top hindi film songs. Songs and dances were not the only thing present at Destination: South Asia. Audience members also had a peak of South Asia through world acclaimed photojournalist Rajan Devadas' photo gallery. The breathtaking pictures were of wonderful sites and people in India. In addition, several educational booths were displayed, including one on Sri Lankan culture and one on the history of the Ahimsa Youth Organization. 
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