ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
HindiUSA marks 25 years with St. Louis Kavi Sammelan
The literary event brought Hindi poetry, art and cultural programming to audiences in Missouri's Indian-American community.
-
1759953093.png)
Staff Reporter - Tue, 09, Jun 2026
- 13:27 EDT
- 100
Hindi Kavi Sammelan / Handout
HindiUSA Saint Louis hosted what organizers described as the first large-scale Hindi Kavi Sammelan in the region on May 31, bringing together members of the Indian-American community to celebrate the organization's silver jubilee year.
Held at Webster University's Community Music Hall, the event drew more than 100 attendees from across the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Also Read: Indian American Community Archives Initiative launched at Rice University
The program also marked the completion of 25 years of HindiUSA's efforts to teach Hindi language and Indian culture to children through its network of 29 volunteer-run weekend schools.
The literary gathering featured noted Hindi poets Gajender Solanki and Rajesh Chetan, who presented a mix of humorous poetry, patriotic verses, social commentary, songs and satire. The two poets have participated in more than 3,000 poetry gatherings in India and abroad during their careers.
Chetan serves on the Hindi Advisory Committee of India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is associated with Sanskar Bharati, a cultural organization. Solanki is a poet, artist and lyricist whose work includes theme songs for institutions and organizations, including Delhi University and HindiUSA.
The event also included a special presentation by painter and social worker Baba Satyanarayan Mourya, who combined a live art demonstration with a traditional tribute to Bharat Mata. Organizers said his work has received recognition from several Indian leaders and spiritual figures.
The St. Louis program concluded a month-long U.S. tour that also included events in Atlanta, Edison, New Jersey, and Temecula, California. The tour was supported by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, an organization under the Government of India.
Among those in attendance were Ravi Malhotra and Surinder Sabharwal from the leadership team of the Durga Temple of St. Louis. The nearly three-hour event kept audiences engaged throughout, reflecting growing interest in Hindi literature and cultural programming within the Midwest Indian-American community, organizers said.
The program was led by Mayank Jain and Anshu Jain, with support from volunteers including Kapil Khatri, Seema Jain, Jitesh Gupta, Vishal Singh, Anupama Singh, Barkha Rawat, Nidhi Chaudhry, Karishma Khanna, Vandana Singh, Harsha Aggrawal and Neha Vijay.
Organizers said the event represented an important step in expanding Hindi literary and cultural programming in St. Louis and expressed hope that similar initiatives would help strengthen cultural connections for future generations of Indian Americans.
Indian American candidate Rakhi Israni has shifted her campaign's focus to the special election to fill the seat vacated by former Congressman Eric Swalwell, urging supporters to vote before the June 16 deadline as vote counting in the primary continues.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login