CIC v2.0
CIC v2.0
Read MoreCIC Discover India 2020
Thanks to everyone who attended our first event of the year, CIC Karaoke Night. It was super fun and we look forward to doing it again in the future. It is time now to unveil our second event of the year, our annual trivia game event, CIC Discover India.
For people familiar with this event, it is a super fun, intimate event with teams battling each other in their knowledge of all things India. There is so much we know about India and so much that we dont. This is the time when we face off and figure out who knows better and come out learning more in the process.
It is a great opportunity for new folks in the community to make friends and bond over 3 hours of craziness. To learn more about the event, look at past years posts or talk to someone who participated. You can sign up as a team or as an individual and we will do match making at the venue.
Event Date: Sunday, March 22, 2020
Event Time: 2:00 - 5:00pm
Venue: Vineland Library, San Jose,CA
Participation Fee: $10/ team (please bring exact change, guests attend free)
Sign up here.
Karaoke Night and the next phase for Cambrian Indian Community
Hearty greetings to members of the CIC, old and new. There is a lot of stuff to share so please read on.
Over the past 6 years as a non-profit, the Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) has been bringing the community together through activities and events, big and small. From large events like Diwali and Mehendi night to mid-size and smaller events like Utsav and Discover India, CIC has been organizing events to foster Indian culture and bring members of the community together. But more importantly, beyond these events, CIC has been fostering community building by offering opportunities for members to pursue their passions- be it sports like volleyball or badminton, or micro-communities built around sharing financial ideas and career growth tips. There is something for everyone. Overall these years, CIC has been putting the building blocks to empower this vibrant and thriving community by getting people to know their neighbors and do things together.
On one hand, the micro-communities are thriving like never before. On the other hand, the volunteering that drives the events is lacking the energy the community needs to continue to flourish. We would like to hear from you on how to proceed forward in that regard. We will use each of these events to talk to the community about new ideas and how to move forward.
Starting on February 22nd with a Karaoke night, we will move to a regular programming schedule with small and medium-size events, both new and events similar to what we have had in the past, to encourage more community participation on a much smaller and intimate scale. Think of events as being similar to a meetup or informal get together - folks aligned on common interests getting together. Our annual Discover India trivia event will follow in March. We would love to see new folks in the community help organize new events. Feel free to reach out if you are interested in organizing an event and we will be more than happy to provide guidance.
Finally, one of the challenges we face is how to reach all of you and stay in touch. We will be using our blog and email as our primary means of contact. Additionally, we may periodically share details of new events on WhatsApp. If you are interested in staying in touch and have not attended our event(s) before, please consider sharing your email with us by attending/volunteering at the next event.
If you have feedback or ideas to share, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com
P.S: We will be reaching out to folks via email on participation for Karaoke Night. If you are interested and havent attended any of our earlier events, please email us.
CIC Diwali Gala 2019
The Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) is excited to present its Diwali Gala 2019! Get your tickets here.
We had our first ever Diwali Gala last year with a bunch of ideas! We wanted our community to come together to relax, chat, dance, eat and have a great evening It was a big success based on all your experiences.
This year, we want to make it even better and take it up a notch! Here is a taste of what is coming:
Better Food : Festival=Food! We got you! We are picking an exciting menu from the best Bay area restaurants. Come hungry :)
Kids Activities Center: We heard it loud and clear that parents want to relax knowing their kids are nearby while not having to chase them all the time. We have booked a Kids Activity Center, next door to the hall! Kids will be entertained, Parents get to relax & have fun while the kids are engaged in some interesting activities.
Professional DJ: Kids activities taken care of. Food taken care of. Nothing more to worry about. Come, dance the night away to the tunes of a professional DJ :)
Spirits: In the spirit of the season, we will have some alcoholic beverages - this time with more options than last year . There is a limit though, so please drink responsibly.
More Things to do: We are planning to have an icebreaker like last year. We are looking to have more time for adult activities this year.
Buy your tickets here.
Logistics
Date: Sunday, 17th November, 2019
Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008
Time: 5-9pm
Dress Code: Colorful Indian party/festival attire
Tickets: Please read ticket information below prior to purchasing your tickets.
Each adult and kid ticket includes entry to event and catered vegetarian dinner.
Adult (13 and above): $25/ person
Kids (aged 3-15): $20/ person
Kids (less than 3): Free
Alcohol: $5 per alcohol ticket for beer/wine, $7.50 for premium beverages 2 tickets max per adult
Additional Ticket Information - Please read prior to buying tickets.
Given that ticket availability is capped due to hall considerations, we will restrict each buyer to 6 tickets. If you intend to purchase more tickets, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with your request and you will be placed on a waitlist. - We cannot promise that we will be able to accommodate your request but will do our best.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. When you purchase your ticket, it will be tied to your email address used to make the transaction and where you will receive your ticket confirmation.
Kids under 3 can attend the event for free. You will require to purchase a free ticket for each kid under 3 in the family during the ticketing process to allow us to keep track of the total hall attendee count but you will not be charged for it.
Tickets will not be sold at the venue.
CIC Events: Volunteering and Participation
In the past, one could choose to not volunteer at any CIC event and still get good participation opportunities for themselves and their kids. This was possible in part because we were a small community and invariably, most of the people who participated chose to also volunteer. In the past couple of years, we have seen a massive growth in the community but we have not seen a comparable jump in volunteering not much of new blood in event organization. It has become unsustainable to have the same 30 or so people jumping in for every event. We believe that many more of you want to be more involved in organizing events and in the long term, building a thriving community. So we are making some changes to how we organize our events and solicit participation.
You should volunteer, here is why!
Starting with the next CIC event, family volunteering hours in CIC events throughout the year will translate to priority in participation and tickets. We think it is only fair that families who spend hours helping us build a vibrant and connected community be offered priority for tickets and participation.
More specifically,
Helping with cleanup or decoration or registration or food management or videography or photography is volunteering.
Volunteers for an event get priority for buying tickets for their family and for participating in that event.
Volunteers for past events in the same calendar year will be next in queue.
Finally, folks who have not volunteered for any event that year will get a chance to buy tickets or sign themselves or their kids up for participation.
Participating in an event does not constitute as volunteering and will come with no privileges.
We will be building a roster of folks who are helping out every year and ensure they get the right opportunities whenever possible throughout the year. This volunteering will reset every calendar year so everyone has an opportunity to jump in and help out.
If you have questions, please let us know (cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com) or talk to one of the Board members or officers of CIC.
Opportunities for Volunteering: 2019-20 CIC Events
Starting now, for our flagship events, we will be mapping volunteering to participation opportunities. This will initially apply to three of our largest events - Mehendi Night, Annual Day (erstwhile Diwali) and Utsav (early 2020).
We will have three of our flagship events coming in the next 7 months.
Discover India in late July.
Mehendi Night in Sept/Oct.
Annual day (the erstwhile Diwali program): Performances based event similar to Diwali Mela of 2017.
Details on all three events will be coming in the next few months. So stay tuned. Utsav will be in early 2020. We are skipping Utsav for 2019. We have also pencilled a few experimental events for this year that we will have more to share as we finalize plans.
Hope to see you all Volunteering & Participating at our events this year!
CIC Diwali Gala presented by BB Travel Experts - Event Day Logistics
Please read this note in its entirety. It contains details about the CIC Diwali Gala happening at the Orchard City Banquet Hall (in Campbell Community Center) on Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018.
Event Date: Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018
Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA-95008
Event Day Logistics:
Doors will open at 5:30 pm and will close at 8:30 pm. The hall has to be vacated by 9:00 pm.
Registration: There will be a registration desk when you come in where you will pick up your raffle coupons, ticket (for photo booth - more on that later) and drink tokens (if purchased). Please retain all of them as you will be needing them during the event.
Photo Booth: There will be a photo booth with family photos by Ram Athreya. Each family will get one opportunity (by turn) to get their photos taken. Your family will be called based on your ticket number. Please pay attention when your number is called. Due to time constraints we will not be accommodating more than one picture per family nor will we able to do anything other than family photos. Once the official photo booth is done, the photo booth area will be available until the end of the show for friends and family to take as many photos as they desire with their phones.
The hall will be divided into two sections - one with banquet style seating for dinner and the other, the dance floor/ standing area. There will also be chairs in the corners of the room for friends to sit and talk.
Music: There will be a professional DJ providing music throughout the evening.
Food: Chai and an appetizer will be available from around 6 pm. A banquet style dinner will be served around 7 pm. Food is being catered by Ananda Bhavan.
Drinks: The bar will be open from 6 pm for people who have purchased their alcohol. There will be a selection of beer and wine to choose from. Alcohol will not be available for purchase at the event.
Games: There will be a fun game from around 6:15pm. We request everyone to participate in the fun.
Parking: There is ample parking in the complex.
Trash and Clean Up: The event is managed entirely by volunteers and there will be limited time to clean up afterwards. We request all attendees to dispose their trash (plates and cups) in designated trash bins and not leave them lying around. We also strongly recommend parents bring a water bottle for their kids to reduce waste.
Kids: Parents are responsible for their kids safety. The hall is large enough to accommodate everyone. Kids can move around relatively freely. But once kids leave the hall, it will be hard to track them in the dark beyond the lobby. So we request parents to keep a watchful eye on their kids.
Raffle Prizes: There are some exciting raffle prizes to be given away during the event. For folks who have bought the raffle tickets online, you will get them at registration. For everyone else, you will have a chance to buy raffle tickets at the registration desk.
Ticket Transfers: If you had to transfer your tickets (or if you are the recipient of tickets you picked up from someone else), please let us know prior to the event so we can give you the right ticket. You can email Nekzad@gmail.com with the information.
If you have any last minute questions or concerns, email or message Nekzad or Prabhu.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
CIC Board and Officers.
Presenting our Gold Sponsor for the CIC Diwali Mela - LSJ Financial
We are happy to present out third and final sponsor for the CIC Diwali Gala, LSJ Financial. LSJ Financial and Laddi S. Jhuty have been a loyal sponsor of our CIC community over the years.
LSJ Financial provides a full range of Financial products including Life Insurance, Portfolio Management, Estate Planning and Tax filing. Laddiji has been very active in our community, having conducted investment workshops for us and counts many of our community members as his clients.
Those of us who know Laddi respect his professionalism, respectfulness and efficiency in managing our financial matters and we are glad to see him continue to support CIC year after year in our events.
Please join us in thanking Laddiji for his generosity and visit his business at www.lsjfinancial.com for further information on his services.
Presenting our Gold Sponsor for the CIC Diwali Gala - Trinethra Supermarkets
We are pleased to showcase our Gold Sponsor for the CIC Diwali Gala, Trinethra Supermarkets - Our neighborhood Cambrian Indian Supermarket serving all our grocery needs.
Kishore Muvva, owner of Trinethra, epitomizes the entrepreneurship spirit and has been a strong supporter of CIC Diwali over many years. There are now four Trinethra stores in the Bay Area - Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara (Brand NEW location at 3379 El Camino Real) and our very own Cambrian San Jose store at 4436 Pearl Ave.
On behalf of the CIC Diwali Gala team, we are very thankful to Kishore-ji for his generosity and we are confident that the community will continue to support and visit the Trinethra Indian supermarket for all our grocery needs.
Presenting our Grand Sponsor for CIC Diwali Gala 2018, BB Travel Experts
CIC Diwali Gala 2018 is presented by BB TRAVEL EXPERTS LLC. (Affiliated partner - AVOYA TRAVEL/AMERICAN EXPRESS).
We are yet again, thrilled and thankful to present our Grand Sponsor for this year’s Diwali Gala, BB Travel Experts. Bomi Patel of BBTES has been a huge supporter of our community building efforts over the past 3 years and has willingly stepped up to be the Grand Sponsor yet again.
BBTES is a local one-stop travel agency in our very own Cambrian Park neighborhood and offers full service for all your travel needs across Airlines, Cruises, Hotels, Rail and Car Rentals. They provide personalized, super convenient and friendly service for our high flying Cambrianites - taking the pain out of booking our vacations and family trips around the world.
On a personal note, I (Prabhu) used BBTES to make my summer trip to India last summer and Bomi was super helpful getting me the best price and fast. He took the hassle out of the entire process and within 24 hours, I was ticketed and ready to go.
We sincerely request our community to reciprocate the generous support which BBTES has shown our community by using them for your travel needs!
Contact: Bomi Patel - BBTES9@gmail.com | www.bbtes.com | 408-264-4395
CIC presents Diwali Gala 2018 sponsored by BB Travel Experts
The Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) is excited to present its first ever Diwali Gala sponsored by BB Travel Experts, Trinethra Supermarkets and LSJ Financial. Before we get into specifics, here are the key event details:
Date: Saturday, 10th November, 2018
Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008
Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Dress Code: Colorful Indian party/festival attire
Tickets: Please read ticket information below prior to purchasing your tickets.
Each adult and kid ticket includes entry to event and catered vegetarian dinner.
Adult: $20/ person
Kids (aged 3-12): $15/ person
Kids (less than 3): Free
Additional Ticket Information:
Please read prior to buying tickets.
Given that ticket availability is capped due to hall considerations, we will restrict each person to 6 tickets. If you intend to purchase more tickets, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with your request and you will be placed on a waitlist. We cannot promise that we will be able to accommodate your request but will do our best.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. When you purchase your ticket, it will be tied to your email address used to make the transaction and where you will receive your ticket confirmation.
Kids under 3 can attend the event for free. You will require to purchase a free ticket for each kid under 3 in the family during the ticketing process to allow us to keep track of the total hall attendee count.
Tickets will not be sold at the venue.
You can also buy as many raffle tickets as you desire (raffle prizes will be announced over the next few days)
Event Details:
The CIC has typically organized a performance based Diwali event at this time of the year. This year we are making some changes to that. Given the effort it takes to organize the performances based Diwali event and how it impacts the Dusshera/Navarathri season, we are moving it to Spring and retitling that event as our Annual Day. Look for more details on the Annual Day later this year.
There has also been a demand from community members for a more casual and relaxed get-together where friends come together to celebrate the festive season. This gala is our attempt at addressing that request. We are doing it for the first time and are using this opportunity to try a few new ideas. Here they are.
This event will be performance free. There will be a professional DJ playing music and one half of the large hall will be cleared to accommodate folks who let their hair down and dance the evening away.
We are offering a dinner buffet to allow attendees to sit down with friends and family in a banquet style seating arrangement and have a casual dinner.
Finally, we will also be offering alcoholic beverages for the first time. This is how it will work. Each adult can purchase (during their ticketing) two alcoholic beverage tickets for $5 each. A family of two adults can thus purchase as many as four alcoholic beverage tickets. Beverage options will be limited to beer and wine. There will not be an active bar at the event nor will alcohol be available for purchase at the venue. So if you would like to purchase it, please do so when you buy your event tickets.
We will share the dinner menu in the coming days along with event day logistics. We will also have a raffle during the event with some really cool prizes. A little birdie tells us that a pretty fancy wireless noise cancelling headphone might be one of the raffle prizes. More details in the coming days.
We look forward to seeing you at the event. It will be a lot of fun and best of all, you get to hang out with all your old friends and make new ones too!
Before I leave you, I would like to tell you about our three sponsors for the event. Returning as our Grand Sponsor is Cambrian’s very own BB Travel Experts. Bomi Patel, Proprietor of BBTES lives in our community and has been a major patron of all our events. Also returning as Gold Sponsors are Trinethra Supermarkets, our local Indian grocery store and LSJ Financial, our supportive financial planner. We request one and all to support these businesses who have been pillars in our community.
Buy your tickets here.
CIC presents Positivity Rocks sponsored by Dance Pulla
We are excited to present a brand new event called "Positivity Rocks" sponsored by our local community business "Dance Pulla".
Sponsor Details
If you’ve got a kid that can’t stop tapping their toes to the beat, then Dance Pulla has got a class where they can dance their socks off! We’ll introduce your child to the mix of Bollywood & Kollywood dance techniques while allowing them to express themselves through creative movement and continue to get better their dancing skills. Kids will have a great time learning Bollywood steps every session while improving their confidence in dancing, body coordination, flexibility, and focus. Please visit www.dancepulla.com for more information.
About the dance teacher Vijay Sivalingam, a resident of CIC
Vijay's passion is to dance and he has been dancing for more than 15 years for various dance groups like Sanhiti, Visweta, BATA, Nach Ke Dekh in Bay Area. He has been involved with CIC ever since he moved to Cambrian Park in 2012 and has been actively participating in all the CIC events by choreographing a dance for kids (and adults too). He recently started his own dance school called Dance Pulla to continue teaching dance and instill the pleasure of dancing in kids.
Event Details
Event: Positivity Rocks
Date: Sunday, Aug 12, 2018
Time: 8am - 10am
Venue: Belgatos Park
Participants: Children ages 5 and up
Fee: $10/child
Activities include: Hiking, Sun salutation, Placing the rocks and eat breakfast
We will leave behind painted rocks during the hike and around the play structure to brighten strangers’ days. The rocks can be taken home, admired or moved from one place to another. Aside from making someone's day, another amusing part of the project is seeing where the colorful rocks land after they are dropped off by their maker(s). Interestingly, it’s been found out that people will take them on vacation and leave them in different states, countries even.
CIC Natya Sangeeth Utsav 2018 sponsored by Skyline Tutoring, Music Village, KalaAwishkar Dance School and Kumon-Los Gatos Blossom Crest
The Cambrian Indian Community is excited to welcome you to CIC Natya Sangeeth Utsav 2018.
CIC’s Natya Sangeeth Utsav is our annual event to promote Indian music and dance forms and is in it’s fifth year in 2018. It features Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, vocal and instrumental, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak dances, with solo and group performances by our community members. When this event was first held 4 years ago, the participation was limited but it is hearteningly notable that the music and dance segments presented right from its inception were well received by the audience. From the past 2 years, the participation and volunteer effort for this event has been increasing and this year, we reached maximum program capacity with a waiting list within the first two days of the announcement of the event.
This year, the Utsav event will be held on 20th May 2018 at Guadalupe Elementary school. We are very excited about our community seniors also participating for the first time in a group recital. We are happy to announce that there are multiple sponsors for this event - Music Village, Skyline Tutoring, KalaAwishkar Dance School and Kumon of Los Gatos - Blossom Crest. Utsav 2018 will be held at a local elementary school (Guadalupe Elementary) and we look forward to showcasing all the performances on a beautiful well-lit stage.
Camp Sapne presented by Stem4Kids
We are happy to announce the third edition of Camp Sapne, a sleepover camp for children. This event like past years will be organized and conducted by community teenagers which allows them to develop their leadership skills under adult guidance. Look for more details on the event soon or send us an email at cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com if you are interested.
We are also excited to announce that this year, the event will be sponsored by “Stem4Kids”. With locations in Cupertino, Saratoga, Evergreen & Cambrian Park (San Jose), Stem4Kids has been providing technology-focused Summer Camps and Classes for students. The mission of Stem4Kids is to encourage and enhance learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and other subjects to ensure children receive excellent education that opens doors for them to new and better career opportunities.
Founded by Cambrian resident Shweta Chordiya, Stem4Kids is a locally owned business that is offering summer camps for your kids.Stem4Kids conducts summer camps in many interesting topics for your kids including Python Programming, Java Programming, Robotics, STEAM, Math and English Enrichment, and more. Select number of Scholarships are also available.
You can visit their website www.stem4kids.co or email info@stem4kids.co for more details. We are happy to have them on board as a sponsor for our Camp Sapne event.
Results of 2018 CIC elections and your new Officers
We are happy to announce the new officers who will be joining the CIC organization. This was the result of the elections that were announced recently. We had three applicants for three different roles which made the need for an election moot. All three contestants were elected unopposed. These three officers will serve their roles for a period of 2 years (until March 2020) barring unforeseen circumstances.
So here are your new officers and their brief statement they provided as part of their application for the role.
President - Nekzad Shroff
"I strongly believe that being part of a community takes work and commitment. I consider myself lucky to be a member of a thriving, active and vibrant CIC, and as such, I have no hesitation in giving back to be a small part of its evolution and growth story. My focus in this role would be on 3 key areas: Outreach - to reach and grow the number of active participants and volunteers who proudly count themselves as part of our family, Engagement - to encourage free and open expression of diverse views and debate in our community and to build trusting relationships that propel our energy, Expression - to find avenues for our diverse community members to contribute in unique and creative activities and events which truly reflect the "unity in diversity" that is our biggest asset."
Vice President/Secretary - Rajesh Radhakrishnan
"I like to bring people together. Love it. Organized VB tournament with the help of our community. Getting things done on time, on budget, on schedule, being cognizant of the human elements, is part of my job. This role will require a similar skill set IMO."
Treasurer - Venkata Ramanan
"I am not big on declarations but I think I put others needs and needs ahead of me and will be a guide/help/fellow traveler for the community."
As we mentioned in an earlier post, the CIC Board will continue to stay to help guide the officers and ensure that the core charter of the organization is maintained. The Board consists of three members - Krithika Santhanam, Sachin Holla, and Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy.
We are very excited to welcome the new team. Please join us in congratulating them and providing them the support they need to continue our mission of building a wonderful community.
Closing out CIC Discover India 2018
Thank you to the entire community for showing up at the fourth edition of Discover India. It is our smallest event of the year and designed to foster bonding and collaboration. The setting is intimate and the competition and camaraderie are so wonderful to witness. We had our largest participation turnout ever this year and it was fantastic to see so many new faces. I hope we gave you a good experience that will bring you back for more such events. I am glad I live in a community that gives me a platform to do this every year.
As always, this event was not a solo effort. It took many people doing small and big things at the right time to make the event successful. The Cambrian Indian Community has cultivated a culture of shared responsibilities and this event was no different. As a quizmaster, I stand proudly on the shoulder of giants who help in every step of the way. To new members of the community, I strongly encourage you to consider volunteering or signing up to organizing your own event, however small it may be.
Here in CIC, we take our feedback seriously. After every event, we share a feedback form for participants and guests to share their feedback anonymously. Wherever possible we incorporate improvements based on feedback for future years. Here is the full report of this year's event.
Many thanks to our sponsor, Vimana for supporting us.
Until next year, stay curious!
CIC Discover India 2018 - The Rules of the game
It is almost here. We are just over 24 hours from the fourth annual Discover India presented by Vimana. Before we get to the rules and all that, let me remind everyone about the event.
Date and Time: Sunday, 2 pm at Cambrian Library (please remember to set your clocks for Daylight Savings tomorrow)
Venue: Cambrian Park Library, 1780 Hillsdale Ave, San Jose, CA
Duration: 3 to 3.5 hours based on how quickly we go through the rounds.
Entry Fee: $5 per team. Can be paid in cash at the venue or as a check to Cambrian Indian Community (cash preferred)
Snacks: There will be small snacks (and chai) for purchase. Please bring change.
FAQs on Rules and Logistics:
What time should I be there?
You need to be there at 1.45 pm. We will start getting people split into teams and seated immediately. If you arrive after 1.45, it is likely you will end up in whatever team with openings. The plan is to START the event at 2 pm. The later we start, the fewer the rounds we can run.
I signed up as an individual (or as part of a partial team). Who will be my teammates?
We will sort all of you into teams at 1.45pm tomorrow. So please arrive on time. While it won’t be truly random, I am thinking of keeping things interesting by doing an on-the-spot pairing exercise.
Will there be a break during the event?
Yes, we will take a 15-minute break around 3.30 or so. There will be chai and some small snacks for purchase. Please bring change.
Can I bring my kids?
There is limited space at the library community room, specifically for kids to run around. If your kids can bring a book or activity to do and hang out among adults, it will be perfectly fine.
So about those questions…..
How many rounds will we have?
There will be 6-8 rounds of movies based trivia depending on how fast we roll. We will finish no later than 5:30 pm. Earlier if possible.
Will all questions be focused on Bollywood movies?
No. The questions are designed to cover the broader Indian spectrum. That being said, some rounds are more Bollywood centric than others. Three of the rounds will give teams a chance to pick from a selection of Hindi, Tamil or Telugu movies. So you can play to strengths in those rounds.
Should I be a movie buff to do well? Will the questions be from the black and white era?
You don’t need to be a movie buff but it will help if are someone who occasionally watches (or used to watch) Hindi/Tamil/Telugu movies. If I were to plot a Bell curve, the healthy center of the distribution will be movies from 1985-2005 which coincides with the time many of us used to watch a lot of movies.
Will the questions be hard?
For folks who have attended earlier edition of Discover India, this year will be the easiest by every metric. My goal with this event is to ensure that over 85% of questions are answered by participants. This year will be no different. I expect the hit rate to be higher than 90% this time around.
Are there only direct question type rounds?
No. There will be dumb charades and Pictionary in addition to audio and visual rounds. The event is designed to keep you on your toes.
Should I prepare?
Not sure how you can prepare. If you want to look at my earlier responses and do some prep, you can but it will not make a huge difference one way or the other.
Are there prizes?
In the first year, I offered gift card prizes. There was overwhelming feedback that participants preferred no prizes. So keeping with that, we will not have prizes but you do get valuable bragging rights until next year's event which is a bigger deal than any prize I can give.
Parting thoughts?
Be prepared to meet new people, hang out with old friends and have a lot of fun in a very intimate setting. It gets crazy in a good way. Discover India is one of our smallest events designed to have people crammed into a room and feed off each other’s energies.
CIC Discover India 2018 presented by Vimana
Some logistics information for next week's Discover India 2018 event and a shoutout to our event sponsor, Vimana.
Read MoreCIC Discover India 2018 - The Indian Cinema Edition
It is here. The first CIC event of the year - CIC Discover India: The Indian Cinema edition.
Read MoreCIC Elections and Open House
Hello, Cambrian Indian Community. Hope 2018 is treating you well. As promised during last year’s Diwali event, the CIC Elections are here and we wanted to take this opportunity to explain the election process, roles up for election and the responsibilities that come with them. But before that, we want to also let you know there will be a CIC Open House this Sunday, 11-Feb-2018 at the Vineland Branch Library from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
Agenda for the meeting (in this order)
- CIC Election Process and Logistics
- Q&A on CIC Elections 2018
- Feedback on CIC Diwali Mela 2017 (see this post for actual feedback we will be discussing)
Election Logistics
The Election process will happen over the next few weeks. Here is the timeline.
Feb 07: Announcement of Elections in the CIC Website.
Feb 07: Filing of Nomination starts (Contestant form: https://goo.gl/forms/lhgmm6ilvhbssxBk2)
Feb 11: Elections Open House (2:30-5:30 pm, Vineland Branch Library)
11:59 pm, Feb 12: Filing of Nominations close.
Feb 13: Voting Form available on the website.
Feb 17: Votes drop off at board members residence (location to be confirmed. In person only- no proxy)
Feb 18: Voting in person at Lone Hill Park (time to be confirmed)
Feb 20: Announcement of results
March (Date TBD at Discover India): Introduction of Cambrian Indian Community Officers to the community
Roles and Responsibilities of the Officers
The Officers of CIC will hold office for a 2-year period starting March 2018 and ending in March 2020. The Officers are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization including but not restricted to
1. Event organization and management
2. Community Outreach
3. Volunteering and community participation
4. Event Sponsorships
5. Publicity and marketing
6. Balancing the books and keeping financial transactions accurate and consistent
7. Consult with Board when required.
8. Report to the board quarterly.
The CIC officer positions available for election will be:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President
The president shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation. Subject to the control of the board of directors, the president will define the activities of the organization, supervise and direct the affairs of CIC and of the officers. At all times, the president will be the face of the organization and will be responsible for setting direction according to the CIC charter and bylaws.
Chief Operating Officer (COO) - Vice President and General Secretary
In the absence of the president, the vice president will perform all the duties of the president. The general secretary shall certify and keep the original, or a copy of these bylaws as amended. Keep a book of minutes of all meetings of the directors, and, if applicable, meetings of other committees.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Treasurer
The treasurer shall have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the corporation.
- Receive, and give receipt for, monies due and payable to the corporation from any source whatsoever.
- Disburse, or cause to be disbursed, the funds of the corporation as may be directed by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements.
- Keep and maintain adequate and correct accounts of the corporation's properties and business transactions, including accounts of its assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, gains and losses.
- File annual tax returns.
Chief Marketing Officer
As the Chief Marketing Officer, you will be responsible for creating innovative marketing strategies that will aid in building the CIC community presence, leading to increased awareness, fundraising revenue, relevance and respect among our target customers, donors and of course, the larger CIC community. In addition, the CMO will have ownership, direct or indirect, of the CIC website, blog and other social media channels as may be appropriate.
Requirements to Contest in Elections
1. Each contestant will have
- lived in the community for 2 years or longer and,
- attended no less than 4 CIC events and,
- volunteered in at least 2 events in a significant capacity, as determined by the board.
2. Each candidate can contest for only one role.
3. Each family can have only one family member file for nomination. If one of your family members is a part of the CIC board of directors, you are not eligible to participate.
Filing for Nomination
You can file your nomination with the form here (https://goo.gl/forms/lhgmm6ilvhbssxBk2). Please note the following:
1. Nominations will be closed at 11:59 pm on Monday, 12th Feb.
2. In the days leading up to the election, we will share each of the nominee’s “What would I do in my role to help build a better community” so voters have an opportunity to read and understand what the candidates are offering
3. In the event that a specific role has no contestants, the Board reserves the right to nominate someone of their choice for the role.
CIC Mission
- Foster a tighter community among the Cambrian Indian community including adults, children, and senior citizens.
- Encourage local talent and businesses
- Promote Indian culture targeting the Indian diaspora but not restricted to Indian families. All are welcome!
CIC Long-term Vision
Host flagship events to promote a deeper awareness, knowledge, and demonstration of Indian music, cultural traditions, and dance.
Facilitate events to allow for atypical community members’ interest, for eg. quiz, karaoke, etc.
Conduct events that are very directly targeted to foster deeper relationships between children living in the community.
Play a significant role in charitable giving and encourage philanthropic activities within the community and also external to the community.
Engage in active community organizing to lend a voice to the larger Cambrian, San Jose, and wider communities as well.
Interactions can be a purely social, political nature as long as it doesn’t conflict with the CIC charter of not being unduly favorable to any one particular person or organization
Provide a physical location for entrepreneurs in the community to host classes/commerce for the larger community
Some FAQS
1. What is this election for and how does it change the current structure of the CIC organization?
When the CIC was originally conceived and formalized in 2014, the community was much smaller than what it is today. At that time, it made sense to have fewer members involved in the day-to-day running of the organization. The members of the board (1 chairperson of the board, two voting Directors, 1 Vice President/General Secretary and 1 Treasurer) also doubled up in taking operational roles of the Officers of the CIC.
The community is much larger now and it makes sense to separate the Board from the Officers who will be responsible for the daily operations. The Board will mostly remain unchanged but will take on an advisory role to the Officers (see next FAQ). The Officers who will be elected through these elections will execute on the responsibilities as outlined above.
2. What then is the role of the CIC Board?
The Board’s role is to ensure that all the actions of the CIC are consistent with the vision of the CIC as a community to bring like-minded people in the Cambrian area. The Board will be available to provide support and guidance to the Officers as they execute on their roles and responsibilities. The CIC Board’s role is not to be necessarily involved in the day-to-day affairs of the CIC. Having said that, the board will weigh in very directly if it is felt that the officers are proposing action that conflicts very directly with the mission, charter or goals of the Cambrian Indian Community.
3. What is Cambrian Indian Families (CIF)? How is it related to CIC?
The CIF Facebook group was started by a few families who live in the Cambrian Park neighborhood. This is to allow a social gathering and as such is a private facebook group with memberships managed by the administrators of the group. You can apply for membership with this group directly, but CIC has no relationship, direct or indirect, with CIF. Since some of the families also attend, participate and are active volunteers at CIC events, the information about CIC events may sometimes be cross-posted in the Facebook group for visibility.
4. Why do we need an organization? Isn’t it just folks getting together and doing stuff?
We have always been about bringing the community together. However, with time, we have grown as a community and hence our needs, interests, and events have grown as a result. Becoming an organization gives many benefits like getting liability insurance for our events, having a bank account and getting tax exemption for donations received in our events. We are now an officially certified 501c3 tax exemption organization.
5. How do I become a member of the CIC?
There is no formal membership for the CIC organization. When we formed the organization, we took a conscious decision to keep the focus on community building and not a lot of paperwork and formality around memberships and such. Hence, at this time, we have no formal membership model and no yearly membership fee as well. We will review this periodically as the community grows and interest and participation changes.
6. What are the benefits of being involved with CIC?
The CIC organization exists to create events, foster community and be the voice of the community as defined in the CIC Mission and Vision. This allows the member to have the knowledge that there is always a set of folks who are driving events and other activities with this goal in mind. Apart from occasional fundraisers (2 in the past 4 years) which are scheduled on an as-needed basis, the only support that we look from our community is to be an active participant/volunteer in our community events. Besides, the CIC events give the community members a great opportunity to meet other like-minded people in the area and provides a sense of community involvement.
7. How can I learn about new events and how do I sign up to volunteer or participate in CIC events?
The CIC blog is always the best reference to hear about our events and understand how to register as a participant or volunteer. In the past, some of our members have cross posted to private Facebook, WhatsApp groups that they are part of. However, these are unofficial and private shares. In the future, we may employ other social media channels in addition to or in lieu of existing mechanisms to communicate our events and other activity, but at this time, the only official communication channel is our CIC website. We will communicate any changes to our communication strategy in this blog.
CIC Diwali Mela 2017 - Feedback Summary
Thank you all for being a part of the incredible journey that was the CIC Diwali Mela 2017 held on 4th Nov at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. We had over 500 attendees, over 100 participants, over 50 volunteers and over a 1000 hours collectively spent preparing for the grand event. Ably led by PNG team comprised of Pallavi, Nekzad and Geetha and supported by a great team of volunteers, we had a program that by many measures was out biggest. Like we have done in past years, we solicited your feedback and you responded enthusiastically with very candid opinions of where we did right and where there is an opportunity for us to do better.
Here in the Cambrian Indian Community, we take your feedback very seriously. The event you saw this year was a result of a lot your feedback over the past years and this year will be instrumental in shaping how we approach the event next year and in future years. To that end, we will share what you shared with us in two parts- the first part is this report on our blog with all the raw data and feedback you provided us on every aspect of the program. The second part is an in-person feedback session that will be scheduled soon (once we get everyone’s calendars aligned) where the Board will discuss your feedback in more specific terms and discuss how we will learn and improve from it. So, without further ado, here is all that 72 of you told us about your experiences with Diwali Mela 2017. I am presenting them here without any commentary.
Overall Experience
Ticketing and Registration
Auditorium, Seating and Other Logistics
Program Quality
Snacks and Break
Volunteering
Next year
A Few Thoughts
Often times it is forgotten that every single volunteer in this event committed their time willingly for the benefit of the community. To that end, we see this feedback not as an opportunity to find faults at how individuals functioned but more as organizational successes and failures. We fix where we didn’t do well. We repeat and double down on what was well received. Sometimes we realize that there are problems with no practical solution or only sub-optimal solutions that will not appease everyone. In those circumstances, we bias towards the solution that either hasn't been tried before or the one with the least inconvenience. How a particular aspect of the event is perceived by an audience member is different from that of a participant which is different from that of a coordinator. The time commitment varies vastly between ferrying their kid to practice sessions versus someone else who spent every Saturday and Sunday for the 3 months leading up to the event working on a focused role. There is literally a few hundred hours of difference in time spent working on the event.
We received a lot of valuable free form feedback on how we could do this event better. We value those inputs. In addition, we request members of this community to take an active role in future years of the event so they experience first hand the active debates and deep-dive sessions that happen among the core team prior to making a decision- whether it is the duration of snack time or seating arrangements (easily the most complex effort this year) or ticket price. This helps in understanding why certain things were done the way they were. This is not to explain away any lapses in execution but to provide context on what happens in the background leading up to the event.
Conclusion
As you can see, given the sheer scale of this year’s event, there was a lot of passionate feedback and opinion and we are thankful for such an involved community. We look forward to discussing the with as many members of the community who can attend the feedback session.