When many of us went to engineering schools for our undergraduate studies many years ago, we were taught what one would now call 'arcane' (or is it 'archaic'?? may be both!) computer languages: Fortran, Pascal, Cobol and such .... and oh, of course - how could we forget BASIC!!  JDKs and SDKs, platforms and frameworks and the -aases of the I, P or S kinds, have been myths to many of us and still continue to be so for some of us lesser mortals. So, it should not be surprising that to get this website running, adding Google analytics and making some changes to our Facebook page have been quite a journey. A big shout out to some of the UC students who have helped out in the process; also see the ISA post here!

We have updated our landing page with the pre-registration details as well as a "Register Now" link. This is also made available on the Cincinnati Durga Utsav 2014 facebook page under the CDU Registration tab. And you can always click on http://bit.ly/1pNaWz1 from anywhere and any device to get your registration going!

Speaking of registrations, as a non-profit organization our approach is to be able to cover the fixed & variable expenses of an event while providing the community an opportunity to immerse themselves in our traditions and cultures. Organizing the annual Durgotsav in Cincinnati for 6 consecutive years has given us a pretty good handle on cost structures. We also feel strongly that as a non-profit organization, we do not need you to pay through the roof, neither do we need preferential tiers of registration fees.   

We want to welcome everyone to this annual event, and we have made it as easy and accessible as possible.

To be successful, we need participants to register ASAP, so that there is adequate time to plan and  execute this mega event. The rates will go up in just about a fortnight and then will be even higher at the gate, so please take advantage of our low rates now! 

Shifting gears, if you live in the region, you can treat yourself to some pandal-hopping over multiple weekends, but please do attend the one and only annual Durga Puja in Cincinnati.  Email or call our Conveners, our Registration team members and / or any of your friends who have been to this wonderful local celebration. We look forward to seeing you, so please don't delay!

Meanwhile, we just retrieved this video from our CDU 2013 archives. As one would say - nothing succeeds like success. Enjoy!

Long after the Cincinnati Durga Utsav 2014 is over and memories start fading, the participants and their moms-dads-sons-daughters-cousins-nephews-nieces-friends-foes will relish the CDU 2014 brochure for years to come. 

Other than the registrants' directory with contact details, which everybody finds immensely helpful when throwing parties by the way, the brochure is also an excellent compendium of community updates, literary work and art work.

So, find that Sunil Ganguly in you this weekend !  Or the Abanindranath in your kids ! Set some time aside to let your creative juices flow.... the last date for submission of all creative work for the brochure is September 10, 2014. Please submit via mail or in-person to Smita Sengupta.

The young adults of CCI have been trying to be super-secretive about their practices & performances for a while now but one enthusiastic paparazzi member found an opportunity to capture these images last week. We sure know that capturing their energy on camera was not an easy task! Thanks for sharing Mr (or Ms) Anonymous Paparazzi!! 

And no, they wouldn't divulge where they are going to be practicing this weekend. To watch their scintillating performance on stage, be there at the CCI Durga Puja on Saturday, October 4. Register here or here now :-)

CCI has been busy. We have been busy planning the seventh Annual Durga Utsav in Cincinnati, Ohio.
 
We have thought about what makes Durga Pujo special for everyone. So, what makes Durga Pujo special?
 
Is it the food?  SURE! Well, we will have fabulous food from the best Indian restaurants in the city, together with special home made items from our own kitchens.
 
Is it the cultural programs? SURE! There will be lots of music and dancing, theater and instrumental performances by children and grown ups. There will be special costumes and decorations added this year. There is also the one and only Parnava Banerjee from Kolkata, India.
 
Is it the “bonedi pujo” we reminisce about? SURE! We are the best of all worlds. We are large enough to have dhunuchi naach and yet small enough where “everybody knows your name” and we have a moderated “adda” session in addition to the non-stop adda that goes on all three days. 
 
Register early and even if you are a non-member, you may be invited to participate in cultural programs. It is strictly on a first come first served basis, so please register early.
 
But most of all, what makes the CCI Durga Utsav special? It is YOU! Please visit our website: cdu2014.org. REGISTER NOW and take advantage of our fantastic low rates. Call our Conveners, call our Registration team and mark October 3 – 5, 2014 on your calendar.
 
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Yesterday was a busy day at the West Chester library with the kids practicing their lines from Tagore's Juto Aabishkaar. It was fun to see the parents trying to decipher some of the tongue-twisters for the kids. Reminded us of the kelo: Gel-O conversation from years back (for those not in the know, let this be an adda topic during Cincinnati's one and only annual Durga Puja on October 3rd, 4th & 5th).

Here are some of the photos from the practice session.

Our next event is the community lunch that we sponsor at the Hindu Temple. This is on September 7, 2014. Visit the facebook events page here.

This would be one last opportunity to avail of the pre-registration rates for the Cincinnati Durga Puja. If you are yet to register and intend to save a few dollars to splurge during the Pujo, do remember to catch hold of one of the Registration Team members during the Temple Lunch. The rates go up from September 16th..significantly! Visit the facebook events page here. And checkout the facebook page and your photos from yesteryears here.

Talking of the lunch, we have a wonderful bunch of ladies who have come forward and volunteered to prepare the subzi and the halwaa. All of us appreciate their effort very much. CCI ladies rock! The men not so, or so it seems. We are still looking for our Chef de Khichuri and a few Sous-chefs to work magic with the chaal-daal-masala at the Temple kitchen on 7th morning. If you are game but are jargogled (which, apparently is an obsolete word currently trending in cyberspace that means confused), let us know here.

While the drama team is going full speed with their rehearsals, the dance troupe has some exciting news to share as well! 

A rendition of Mahishasur Mardini through a fusion of Kathak & Bharatnatyam dance forms, will light up the CCI stage on Saturday (4th October). And if that wasn't enough, the team has a repertoire of folk dances to build up the tempo with the audience! Don't miss this, be there and cheer for your friends & performers.

Nita, Piyali, Payal, Saheli , Aninditya , Himavindu, Anjan, Santanu and the rest of the team - we are excited to see you on stage.

For those who cant attend, don't lose heart - you can take a sneak peek at the team rehearsals at the Anderson and Corryville libraries.

In case you haven't noticed, Lakshmi Puja date & venue have been published in our Annual Events page!! 

Mark this event on your calendar by visiting the Facebook events page here. Not only is this another opportunity to meet each other but also to complete our Bijoya Dashami "kolakuli" rituals after Durga Puja.We had a great turnout at the Lakshmi Puja last year. So much so that the venue was bursting at its seams. And the organizers had a helluva time cleaning up :-)

Check out your photos at the Album!

In anticipation, this year we have booked a slightly larger venue. Spread the word around and remember to join us at CCI's Lakshmi Puja this year.

How many of us know about Matkuni, infamous Shakuni’s clandestine sibling? Even Vyas, the great poet overlooked his presence. The times of Mahabharata are such enigmatic. There were warriors like Bhima or Duryadhana who sold their humanity for unholy might, and there were kingmakers, crafty and often decadent, like that of Krishna and Shakuni. Appears Matkuni, and the tale changes, albeit the fate remains the same.

"The Third Dice Game" will be presented by the CCI kids at Cincinnati's Durga Puja on Saturday,  5th October at 7:50 pm.

Ok, we had to do this. Many members still prefer downloading the registration form and sending across their checks and forms by postal mail. So, yes .. the form is now available for downloading in our Registration page. More importantly, we hope to save the commission that we otherwise have to deduct on a per transaction basis. And those nickels and dimes have an uncanny knack of adding up to a size-able number very soon.

If you have the option of paying offline, we would surely prefer that. Happy downloading :-)