26 May 2016
Hyderabad

MayaBazaar WOWS BayArea – Maya Bazaar 2016 (Baahubali Theme) again managed to beat its own success from last year! A unique outdoor festival, first of its kind organized by Bay Area Telugu Association had surprises in every corner. Despite a little rain, people came in droves to see it and left with a sense of wonder, excitement and nostalgia.  A hand painted ancient palace like entrance complete with lions and a large realistic adorned elephant welcomed everyone. With over 7000 attendees, Maya Bazaar was refreshingly endearing, visually stunning, totally engaging, and hilariously entertaining with pure magic all around. This mega event was co organized with DESI 1170AM radio & presented by Sanjiv Gupta CPA.

The event started at 11AM and went all the way till 8PM. There were live Characters - Chota Bheem, Baahubali, Ballala Deva, Hanuman, Bala Ganesh, Srikrishna, Spider man, Capt America & many more that mingled with the crowd and were a raging hit among kids and adults. The highlight
of these characters was Kilki the large friendly Dinosaur that walked around interacting with people.  There were several carnival games & slides for kids. Jungle Book, Mahismati Jala Kreeda and Shaktiman rides were a runaway hits with kids. And there were two train rides – Baahubali & Avanatika Express.

People were thrilled, coming out of the Maya Bazaar Theater which offered an incredible opportunity to immerse oneself in the Baahubali theme. Audience could get pictured participating in various scenes of the movie including fighting a large bull in a realistic arena, lift up a Shiva linga in front of a life size waterfall.

One of the major highlights at the event was the archery show Sri. Lingamgutla Subba Rao (Abhinava Ashwadhama ) who is an expert in the art of archery. He performed various feats by shooting the target with his feet, in ashtanga aasana, blind folded (by listening to sound) & looking into the mirror at a moving object. The audience was thrilled to see this rare skill.

One of the key mottos of Maya Bazaar was to showcase and propagate Indian Culture and Art forms. The daylong cultural programs did that in style. Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Kathak & Mohini Attam Classical dances (by kids and adults), Foot tapping Bollywood and Tollywood dances thoroughly entertained the audience. Singers from BATA Karaoke team presented super hit songs. Added to this, there were some special shows – Unicycle Show and still walker.

Desi Food Festival with brought various delicacies with unique presentation under one roof. Peacock Restaurants, Cakes & Bakes, Venkatesh Bhavan, Biryaniz, Chaat Café, Bawarchi, Himalayas & Chennai Grill catered the food for the event. What’s a summer festival without shopping and Maya Bazaar provided ample opportunities for the same. Over 50 vendors displayed booths spanning clothing, jewelry, dentist, mehendi, real estate, after schools, IT training, health services, music schools &TANA (Telugu Association of North America) – conducted a bone marrow drive and it was very well received.

This amazing festival ended with a true grand parade led by BATA team, Elected officials, Paatasala (a prominent Telugu school) teachers and children in a train, a float with Baahubali themed characters followed by Kilki the dinosaur. It was not like an outdoor festival but a customized amusement park for the Bay Area Indian community.

BATA team felicitated, San Ramon City Mayor Bill Clarkson and Assembly Woman Catherine Baker. Mayor Clarkson thanked BATA for bringing such an incredible event that binds the community together and promised unwavering support in the coming years for events that BATA takes up. Assembly Woman Catherine Baker commended BATA for organizing such a fun-filled summer festivity for the community.

BATA team thanked and felicitated the event sponsors. DESI 1170AM (Co-Organizer), 92.3 FM, Sanjiv Gupta CPA (Presenting Sponsor) Lavanya Duvvi (Grand Sponsor) You Smile Dental (Powered by). Other sponsors included 24 Mantra (Platinum Sponsor), Satya Dasari (Platinum Sponsor), PNG Jewelers, Aparna Constructions, Best Brains, Swagat, Malai Kottai & Namaste plaza.

BATA team also thanked all the volunteers from TANA, Asha Jyothi, Spandana, East Bay Indian community,Tri-Valley high school and local college students who worked dedicatedly and enthusiastically for the event. Finally BATA team thanked the entire Bay Area Community for their fantastic response to the event.

Maya Bazaar (Baahubali) – the sheer name sets unprecedented expectations. But Maya Bazaar event lived up to and in fact crossed all expectations by a mile. Every attendee of Maya Bazaar went home with lots of smiles & lots of memories they will cherish for a long time. Maya Bazaar is now a Landmark event in the Indian Community and with such a phenomenal response it is inevitable that Maya Bazaar will be MUCH BIGGER & BETTER next time.