We are now South Asian Arts, Cultures, and Humanities (SAACH), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We will continue to produce Oregon DesiFest and Desi Lit Fest.
2024 Community Gathering
LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Building 19
4000 East 30th Avenue, Eugene Oregon
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024
12 PM - 4 PM
Local & Regional Performance and Visual Artists
Shanti Shivani/Ankush Vimawala ~ Malvya Chintakindi ~ Shaurya Narreddy ~ Ry Oommen ~ Pranoti Hiremath ~ Ari Aquilla-Saund ~ Arati Windstein ~ Miriam Hacksaw ~ Shabad Dhalla
FOOD ~ MUSIC ~ STORYTELLING ~ DANCE ~ VISUAL ART
Johanna Ogden & Usha Alexander
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Building 19, 2nd Floor, Pacific University (Eugene Location) Library
LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
4000 East 30th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon
Johanna Ogden (MA, University of British Columbia) is an independent historian and local activist based in Portland. She has published multiple articles in Oregon Historical Quarterly, including “Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging,” which received the Oregon Historical Society’s Joel Palmer Award, and has spoken extensively across the Pacific Northwest and in India.
Johanna Ogden has spent more than a decade researching — and working to preserve — the stories of people from India who lived in towns along the Columbia River.
Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar and Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case.
Usha Alexander, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up in Pocatello, Idaho. At 19, she ran away to university, eventually joining the US Peace Corps to teach science in Vanuatu. In the late '90s, she settled in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area, contributing her talents to Apple.
Usha now divides her time between Gurgaon, India, where she lives with her partner, and Eugene Oregon, with her mother. A global citizen, she’s lived in four countries, channeling rich experiences into her novels, "The Legend of Virinara" and "Only the Eyes Are Mine," alongside her poignant novelette "Leaving Idaho" and thought-provoking essays on environmental distress and storytelling.
Lokesh Kamble ~ Melissa "Mimi" Nolledo ~ Arun Toké ~ Keerti Hasija-Kauffman ~ Kaavya Hasija-Kauffman ~ Kaashni Hasija-Kauffman ~ Sitara Carden ~ Indu Carden
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024
Ongoing Art Gallery
Building 19, 2nd Floor @ LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024
7 PM - 9:30 PM
RAGOZZINO PERFORMANCE HALL (Building 6)
LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE (Main Campus)
4000 East 30th Ave. Eugene, Oregon 97405
Doors Open at 6 PM
OPENING Bharatanatyam Performance by
Sitara, Indu, and Priya Carden
FEATURE PERFORMANCE by
Sindhoor & Natyaveda Navarasa Dance Theater
A Story and A Song
A poetic response to climate change.
The show has traveled around the globe and is now coming to Eugene!!!
Purchase tickets here.
A tale of women, environment and love told with wit and dynamic interplay of classical dance (Bharatanatyam), martial art (Kalari), yoga, aerial dance, theater, and live music. A folk tale of a woman who can become a flowering tree exploring the beauty of nature, love and compassion forms the central theme of the show.
Choreography and Direction: Aparna Sindhoor & Anil Natyaveda
Script: Aparna Sindhoor & S M Raju
Music: Guitar Prasanna
Performance: Aparna Sindhoor, Anil Natyaveda, Raghu Narayanan, Leah Vincent, Sunil Thakachan
Stage Manager: Jessica Dunnaville
Photo Credit: Alphonse Roy and Ravi Shekar
“Magical mix of traditions and styles”
– Boston Globe, Boston
“The duets between Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda are riveting. Possessed of a haunting singing voice in addition to her other talents, Sindhoor is truly a wonder.”
– Montreal Mirror
“A dynamic response to a broken world”
–The Gazette, Montreal
“Navarasa’s blend of Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance), theater and kalarippayattu (ancient South Indian martial arts) tells an important story through a unique art form rarely seen on LA stages.”
– LA Weekly, Los Angeles
“A performance deeply, almost in-your-face Indian, but impressively international in its appeal and quality…. The level of individual skill was high, and the combination created an experience that stunned the audience with its complexity and beauty…”
- Times of India, Pune
“It is no wonder they have gained their reputation as the best physical theatre out of India—the clarity of the physical storytelling from this accomplished company is absolutely expert…
–SAD Magazine, Vancouver, Canada
Deep Gratitude to Our Sponsors for helping make this year's programming into a reality for the Eugene / Springfield communities and beyond.
Oregon Desifest 2023 & DesiLitFest 2024 Highlights
Donations to Oregon DesiFest are tax deductible. Oregon DesiFest is a fiscally sponsored 501(c)(3) organization.