First ever dhol competition at 18th annual Global Mela
(Left) Part of the Nritya Natya Kala Bharti (NNKB) Dance Academy's performance. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
The 18th annual Global Mela hosted by the Global Mall in Norcross/Atlanta on September 21 and 22, 2019, the largest Diwali Mela, attracted a record attendance of thousands, who came out to enjoy a beautiful fall weekend to kick off the festival season.
Global Mela has come to be known as the “Black Friday for South Asian Shopping” and an event that brings together the entire community to celebrate unity. Global Mall’s 17 clothing and jewelry retailers held their largest annual sale during the Global Mela weekend, in addition to the 53 weekend vendors who had set up their booths in the Global Bazaar this year. Attendees started lining up for Ladlee’s annual sale 2 hours prior to the doors opening, and the crowds rushed in to snag the best deals. Downstairs the Global Bazaar, set up inside Ashiana’s banquet hall, had clothing and jewelry vendors from all around the U.S.
(Left) Crowds in Ladlee for designer Indian clothing. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
The event opened up with a lamp lighting ceremony performed by Pandit Gyan Prakash Upadhyay and Pandit Ved Joshi with the dignitaries in attendance: Mayor of Norcross Craig Newton and Consul Davender Singh (OCI), the beautiful Miss Teen India GA 2019 Suhani Bhandari, and Mrs. India GA 2019 2nd Runner-Up Shalu Malhotra.
(Left) Global Mela’s opening ceremony with Norcross mayor Craig Newton, Consul and Mrs. Davender Singh (OCI) and others. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
The owner of Global Mall, Mr. Shiv Aggarwal along with his wife Anushi Aggarwal, welcomed all the guests and thanked the community for continuously supporting the vision of Global Mall “to bring the community at large together to celebrate the rich South Asian culture.” Mr. Aggarwal especially thanked the Global Mela organizers, Lynn Rich, Aarti Aggarwal, and Doc McAlpine for their hard work in putting together another amazing Mela!
(Left) Saturday TV winner. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
Like every year, free raffle prizes were given out every hour on the hour, and this year over 150 people won free raffle prizes sponsored by Global Mall and its numerous tenants and vendors, including two very lucky winners who won 55” LED Smart TVs sponsored by Legacy Jewels and the Global Mall family.
(Left) The dhol competition. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
Throughout the two days, cultural performances enthralled the attendees with Bollywood beats. DJ Bobby and Kiran Sethi from XtraHotDJs kept the crowds dancing and pumped all weekend.
This year, Global Mall hosted the first ever Dhol Competition won by Manraj Singh with 2nd place winner Suvir Singh. All participants won cash prizes for their hard work and amazing talent.
Two clothing and jewelry retailers from Global Mall, Suhagan and Radhika Collection, showcased their newest jewelry and clothing lines in the fashions shows held Saturday and Sunday.
(Left) Prem Dance Studio. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
Dance being at the center of the South Asian culture, the weekend was full of foot-tapping performances by Global Mall’s two dance academies, NNKB and Prem Dance Studio. In addition, local Atlanta schools and performers entertained the crowds, featuring Sangeeta’s Bollywood Zumba, Damali Bacchus, and Avni & Aditi.
Children were jumping with joy on the inflatable rides set up outside the mall and were treated to food and fun inside with free popcorn, cotton candy, balloon art, and face painting provided by Global Mall. Additionally, the magic shows enthralled over 150 kids both days with a free kids raffle run after the shows!
(Left) A packed Global Mall. (Photo: Vinod Devlia)
The Global Mall team announced that next year, attendees can enjoy the expansion at Global Mall with its second food court, new retailers, a wellness studio, free dance and yoga classes and, during Global Mela weekend, the Global Bazaar will be doubled in size with even more vendors and shopping!
Website Bonus Feature
Thanks:
Well known and respected Global Mall owner, social activist and philanthropist Shiv Aggarwal
commented, “Global Mela is our way of thanking the community for supporting Global Mall
and our Indian cultural center. I established Global Mall in order to bring the South Asian
community together under one roof in a unique community center. It is my passion, my vision
and my goal to make everyone aware of our rich Indian culture and heritage through such
carnivals.
I would like to thank all the tenants, the vendors and the raffle-prize donors. I wish to thank the media: TV Asia, India Tribune, Wownow.com, Atlanta Dunia, Desi-Express, Pardes Magazine, Rashtra Darpan, Khabar, NRIPULSE, Desh Videsh, and Saathee. My special thanks to Vinod Devlia of Photography by Vinod, for his photography services in recording the entire event. The biggest thanks to the Global Mall staff and volunteers for the hard work. Thank you to the Norcross Police Department for well-deserved compliments for manning the parking lot and handling the large crowds. Finally, I would like to thank my entire family for their unbounding help and support in organizing this event. I am happy that the attendance at the Mela is increasing each year and we are able to make Global Mela the cornerstone for future events!”
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