The Cultural Society of India celebrated its inaugural India Festival at Panther Creek Park on Saturday, and the organization is already looking forward to next year’s event.
CSI President Bhavna Shah said that the organization has been around for 39 years, organizing various cultural and educational events, but they wanted to do something big this year.
“We are getting ambitious. We want to go beyond the tri-state area. So a lot of sweat and blood has gone into this and a lot of people have come together to make this event happen,” Shah said.
So, in collaboration with the Owensboro Cricket Association, they hosted an all-day cricket tournament alongside the India Festival. Throughout the day, guests can learn about Indian culture through dance, food, music and cricket.
The dance lessons showcased dances from different regions of India, including Tamil folk dance from the Southern region and some Bollywood Zumba lessons.
The partnership with cricket came easily Shah said.
“Cricket is the favorite sport of India. It’s like the heart and soul of India. Everybody loves cricket, people of different cultures, religions, castes, everything. They forget all their differences, and they unite to play this sport,” Shah said.
OCA President Dhiren Haria said that seeing the support in the community was great and knowing that he will be able to welcome people to the world of cricket adds to the fun on Saturday.
He said that cricket is growing in the nation as the country is building the Major League Cricket and also qualifying to play in the World Cup.
“I’ve been playing 7 o’clock in the morning. It’s super exciting. It’s just exciting for me to play in the tournament and exciting to show the world what cricket is. I’ve been talking to people, and they don’t know anything about cricket,” Haria said.
With Owensboro Health as a presenting sponsor and seeing the turnout from the community, Haria said that it showcases how supportive Owensboro is.
Shah said that with next year being the 40th year of CSI, they hope to bring it back even bigger.
“We should start planning and next year, we plan to get even bigger,” she said. “…We are trying to leave a mark here. We just want to spread the love and keep India alive in our hearts.”
