Fifth annual Grand Indo-American Fair coming to Mercer County Park
By: Michael Redmond
The fifth annual Grand Indo-American Fair – Mela 2007 – will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 1 and 2, at Mercer County Park, accessible from Hughes Drive in Hamilton.
If past festivals are any guide, thousands of people will be turning out to enjoy a celebration of India that offers a remarkable range of attractions.
As in previous year, the mela ("gathering") will showcase Indian art and handicrafts, costume jewelry, traditional dresses, all manner of wares, Indian cuisine, and an array of Indian classical and popular performing arts from throughout the subcontinent – particularly its rich dance traditions.
Coordinated by Vasanthi Subramaniam, a distinguished Bharatyanatyam dancer and choreographer, the dance roster will include performances by leading Indian dance schools, including Abhinaya Dance School of Princeton, Creation Dance of Edison, Jhoom Dance School of Kendall Park, Kuchipudi Dance School of Kendall Park, Natraj Dance of Edison, Prerna Dance School of West Windsor, Sura School of Dance of Hillsborough, and Varsha Rhythms of Plainsboro.
Musical attractions will include Bollywood star Bela Bhatt, singer Raj Shah and Sunny Singh, master of the dhol, the Indian double-sided barrel drum. Nonstop entertainment will be provided by popular Indian DJs.
Indian cuisine – vegetarian and non-vegetarian- is a major attraction at the mela. Participating will be a number of leading Indian restaurants, including Ganges from Princeton Junction, Kaleva from Edison, Balaji Fusion from Newark, and Gopala Foods from Virginia.
Among the fashion attractions will be Ria Fashions, selling popular "kurti" tops, and Neeta Puri, a Bollywood designer, who will be showcasing her latest line.
Major sponsors of Mela 2007 include Open Road Honda of Edison, Devji Wealth Planning, Colonial Auto Complex, Princeton HealthCare System, Colonial Auto Complex, L’Oreal USA, Western Union and A to Z Home Inspection.
The rain date for the festival is Monday, Sept. 3.
Based in Princeton Junction, Shirdi Sai Dham is a nonprofit religious and cultural association of devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba (1838-1918), one of India’s best known and most respected saints and spiritual teachers.
Sai Baba – not a personal name, but a title akin to "holy father" – spent most of his life living as a simple monk in Shirdi, a village in the Ahmednagar district of the state of Maharastra, now a major center of pilgrimage. He taught a universalist message that reconciled elements of the Hindu and Sufi traditions; he won the respect of Christians and Zoroastrians, as well. His devotees credit Shirdi Sai Baba with the working of numerous miracles.
Proceeds of the Indo-American fairs benefit a capital fund for the eventual foundation of a Shirdi Sai Baba center in the Princeton area.
On the Web: www.indoamericanfair.com.