For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Neha Kothari
The first annual Indus Heritage Day aims to educate the public on the intriguing ancient civilizations of South Asia.
Milpitas, CA. April 13, 2012– On April 29th, three organizations, India Community Center along with the Pakistani American Culture Center and The 1947 Partition Archive are teaming up to debut a Silicon Valley first: the Indus Heritage Day. Indus Heritage Day aims to celebrate shared South Asian histories. During this first debut, the focus is the ancient Indus Valley, a highly advanced but little known South Asian civilization that was at its height 5000 years ago. Children and adults alike will be educated about the Indus Valley through a series of craft activities, a walk through, a documentary film screening and keynote lecture by world renowned Indus Valley archaeologist Professor Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. The educational event is completely free to the public. The day will unfold with breakfast at 10am. Through hands on activities that include Indus hat, jewelry and seal making, children will learn about the undeciphered ancient Indus script, intriguing details about the ancient Indus trade routes with Mesopotamia and Egypt, along with technology and fashion of that time. The event will also feature an ‘ancient photo booth’ and an ancient city ‘model-home’ walk through. Local henna artist, Tisha, will feature Indus Valley themed henna designs. At 11:30, budding Pakistani documentary filmmaker Saqib Mausoof will screen his upcoming documentary film “In Search of Meluhha: Untold story of the Indus Civilization.” The film screening will be followed by a lecture at noon entitled “Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley” by Professor Kenoyer. This talk will present an overview of the major cities of the Indus civilization in Pakistan and India, along with a discussion of smaller settlements and distant resource areas. The important features that distinguish this civilization will be examined including settlement organization, technology, writing, art and religion. The talk will also discuss the evidence for contacts and trade between the Indus region and other adjacent areas, such as peninsular India, Central Asia, the Arabian gulf, Iran and Mesopotamia. Additional areas of discussion will include the decline and transformation of this civilization and its major contributions to later cultural traditions of South Asia. The event will close with children from Xpressions dance company performing Indus regional folk dances including Chalo Mela Ma, a regional dance from Rajasthan and Gujarat that is linked to the unique rituals and prayers of these geographies. A second dance, Dandiya Raas is derived from Ras Leela, performed by Lord Krishna and Gokul and Vrindavan with the Gopies (cowgirls). The distinguishing feature of the Raas is the short sticks (dandiya) representing the sword of Durga carried by the dancers, which they strike in rhythm. Raas is danced by men and women, sometimes together. Majority of the Raas songs are in praise of Krishna and it builds in tempo as it progresses, leading to an exciting finish. Indus Heritage Day is expected to educate children (and adults alike) on South Asian history and inspire study and preservation by the current and future generations. The event is sponsored by a number of local businesses and individuals, as well as art and culture organizations including the Global Heritage Fund and Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India (SACHI).
About the The Pakistani American Culture Center The Pakistani American Culture Center (PACC) is first of its kind Pakistani center in the United States located in the heart of Silicon Valley. PACC organizes 5 major events throughout the Bay Area. PACC is a non-religious, non-political and non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization founded in 2007 with a mission to educate and promote Pakistani languages, literature, history, and culture to all Americans irrespective of country of origin, with a specific emphasis to Americans of Pakistani descent.
About the 1947 Partition Archive The 1947 Partition archive is a citizen-powered organization dedicated to preserving the people’s history of Partition and bringing knowledge of Partition into widespread public consciousness through creative and scholarly expression. The archive achieves this by providing a platform for our fellow citizens to collect, archive and sharing eye witness accounts from all ethnic, religious and economic communities affected by the Partition of British India in 1947.
About the India Community Center The ICC is making a difference – just ask the 350 seniors who call the ICC a second home, or the community members who take advantage of free services from the ICC medical, legal, and tax clinics. With more than 1,900 active members and 1,500 children enrolled in our summer camps every year, and our various Indian cultural programs, we are doing our part in providing a cultural link for generations to come. Become a member and join the vibrant ICC Community today. To learn more, visit us.soon