Founding Members and Past Leaders of TANA Felicitated Telugu Association of North America (TANA), the oldest and largest nation-wide ethnic Indian organization, celebrated the Inaugural Ceremony of its 40th Anniversary in grand style at the very place it began - the Hindu Temple in Flushing, New York on Saturday, July 16, 2016. About a thousand Telugus, a good number of them that were present during the First

North American Telugu Conference conducted on May 28 and 29, 1977, attended this event. Telugu Literary and Cultural Association (TLCA) of New York which hosted the original event 40 years ago played host for the 40th anniversary also.

The inaugural ceremony of the 40th anniversary attracted attendees from all across the country. The current President of TANA, Dr. V. Chowdary Jampala, remarked that his heart was overflowing with joy and pride as he witnessed the gathering of many people that played a major role in the origin of TANA and its subsequent development into the most respected Telugu organization in the world.

He observed that the small but substantial gathering in New York 40 years ago resulted in this great organization known for its service activities both in North America and India. He recounted that TANA, besides its many activities directed towards preserving and propagating Telugu culture and heritage, also has several community service activities like giving backpacks to poor school children, food drives for homeless, bone marrow registry drives, blood

drives, CPR training etc., that continue throughout the year in all corners of the United States.

TANA\'s Emergency Assistance Management Team (TEAM Square), an innovative program of TANA supported by hundreds of volunteers, assists

in two to three emergency incidents every week and extends its hand to even non-Telugus caught in emergency situations as well. TANA\'s charitable arm, TANA Foundation, spends more than a million dollars in India on charitable activities including education, health care, sanitation, infrastructure and other important sectors.

Dr. Jampala thanked profusely the founding members for their vision and the past leaders, volunteers and members for their dedication and commitment that helps TANA achieve its mission of identifying and addressing the social, cultural and educational needs of the Telugu community in North America and worldwide. He invited everyone to attend the final celebration of the 40th anniversary of TANA on May 28, 2017 at the 21st TANA Conference to be held in St. Louis.

The highlight of the evening was the felicitation of the Founder of TANA, Dr. Ravindranath Guthikonda of New Jersey, whose idea of gathering all Telugu speaking people living in North America and having a common association to help

preserve and propagate Telugu language and culture in this new country and be a cultural and charitable bridge with the native Teluguland, resulted in the First North American Telugu Conference in 1977.

The entire audience gave a standing ovation in reverence and appreciation of Dr. Guthikonda, as he was felicitated by Sri Muralimohan, Member of Parliament and a prominent movie star, Sri Rasamayi Balakishan, MLA and Head of Cultural Affairs for Telangana, and Sri Komati Jayaram, Special Representative of Andhra Pradesh government. Dr. Guthikonda remarked that this honor was not really

for him but for the 940 delegates that attended the first Conference and paved way for the subsequent development of TANA.

Dr. Guthikonda recounted that the idea for a Telugu association came to him as he was watching an international flotilla of tall ships gathered in the Hudson River during the US Bicentennial Celebrations on July 4, 1776. As the President of TLCA, he then convinced first his team and then the local Telugu associations across the continent about this idea. Ultimately 940 delegates from 34 states and 3 countries gathered on May 28, 1977, first at the Hindu Temple in Flushing and later at the Conant High School auditorium for two days of discussions and cultural programs.

He observed that the small seed of an idea in his brain at that time eventually grew into this formidable banyan tree with strong roots and a large canopy that aspires to provide a shelter to all the Telugus. He went on to describe his vision for TANA for the next 60 years and the steps TANA should take to keep the association strong and growing: starting an on-line TANA Telugu University, starting Telugu Youth Clubs and arranging regular and frequent gatherings, and having a gradual transition of leadership from the current generation to the Telugu youth born and brought up in USA.

Sri Muralimohan recalled his association over last three decades with TANA and congratulated TANA for its achievements and lauded its commitment to preserving and propagating Telugu culture. He specifically expressed its appreciation for TANA\'s Emergency Assistance and Management Team (TEAM Square) for the help it renders to Telugu people in distress.

Sri Balakishan expressed that he has admired TANA for a long time and is glad to be present at the 40th anniversary celebrations.

A home-made banner lovingly sewn by hand announcing the First Telugu Conference and displayed during the 1977 Conference and saved with loving care for more than 39 years by Guthikonda family was displayed again eliciting an emotional response from the audience. The founding members of TANA including the members of the First Telugu Conference - Sri Krishnamurthy Vempati, Tirumalarao Tipirneni, Nehru E. Cherukupalli and Janaki Rao were felicitated by the past Presidents of TANA, Dr. Raghavendra Prasad Sudanagunta, Dr. Dasaradharami Reddy Gaddam, Gangadhar Nadella, Padmasri Mutyala, Jayaram Komati and Mohan Nannapaneni. The members of TANA Leadership over the past 40 years including past Presidents, Chairpersons of the Board of Directors and TANA Foundation were felicitated by the current leadership of TANA including the Chairman of TANA Board of Directors Dr. Venkata Subbarao Uppuluri and Chairman of

TANA Foundation, Srinivasa Gogineni.

The evening\'s program included several hours of cultural programs including a specially produced welcome ballet written by Vaddepalli Krishna and produced by Damu Gedela, traditional dances choreographed by Sadhana Paranji, classical singing, folk singing and dances by Telangana Cultural Forum, mimicry by Ramesh, mono action by Bhanupakash Challa, modern dances and a film song concert by music director MM Srilekha and singers Mruduravali, Kavya Borra, Anudeep and Prudhvi. An accomplished Kuchipudi dancer from Andhra Pradesh, Sri Haleem Khan, performed a Kuchipudi dance and an instructional DVD for learning Kuchipudi prepared by him was inaugurated by Sri Murali Mohan and Dr. Chowdary Jampala, President of TANA.

Dr. Jampala and the TANA Executive Committee offered their thanks to the organizers of the event: Jay Talluri, TANA Foundation Trustee, Laxmi Devineni, New York Region Coordinator for TANA, and Ravi Potluri, Joint Secretary of TANA, Sirisha Tunuguntla of TLCA, Satya Challapalli, President of TLCA and TLCA Executive Committee and to Govardhan Bobba of Deccan Spice Restaurant who sponsored the event and provided a delicious dinner.

New York hosts a grand kick-off for TANA 40th anniversary celebrations