10 years ago, Gurung (Tamu) Society had a humble beginning. An enthusiastic group of Gurungs wanted to establish a community of their own in America for promoting and preserving their cultural heritage. Today, it is one of the most organized and viable Nepali organizations here with a strong membership and a clear vision. President of Tamu Society, Tika Gurung gives credit to advisers of Tamu Society for their guidance and dedication of its volunteers to make Tamu Society a success story. Over the years, Tamu society has organized many cultural, social, educational, and youth programs to benefit its members. This year’s Lhochhar celebration marked its 10^th anniversary which is truly a milestone for the organization. Many founding members including the past Presidents Tulsi Gurung, Narayan Gurung and adviser Shri Prasad Gurung attended the event and shared their joy with everyone. Before the cultural event, Tamu Society presented a slide show that took many people back to the wonderful moments they shared as a community.

There was a renewed energy among the coordinators and volunteers for this year’s Lhochar celebration. They wanted to make it a special anniversary event and they did exactly that. The coordinators of this year’s Lhochhar, Tek Gurung and Praveen Gurung worked very hard for months along with artists and volunteers. With the help of Choreographer, Dharmbir Lama they put together a wonderful show of Tamu culture and traditions. Among the guests were Madhuraman Acharya, Ambassador of Nepal to the United Nations, Karma G. Sherpa, President of Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Nepal in America (FIPNA), Presidents of Boston Tamu Samaj and Washington DC, and the representatives of many Nepali organizations. Vice President of Tamu Society, Mekh Gurung welcomed the guests and thanked everyone for their support over the last 10 years. More than 400 people attended the event. The event became a colorful display of Tamu culture with many people including children attended it in their beautiful traditional Tamu dresses.

The program started with a Buddhist prayer by a senior member of the community, Sumitra Gurung, an 84 years old woman from Syangja. The cultural program was the main highlight of the evening that featured many traditional Tamu dances and songs. One particular dance depicted a typical scene of “Rodhi Ghar” and featured “doko” (basket) and “bancharo” (axe). Just like the previous years, a large number of Tamu youths participated in the cultural program and received rounds of applauds from the audience. The program also featured many professional artists such as Roshan Gurung, Shyam Gurung, Shanti Bhandari, Rajesh Thapa, Anna Stir, Dharmbir Lama, Prakash Gurung and Ramesh Gurung. The other artists were Aastha KC, Aakriti KC, Beedan, Sonam Gurung, Yogesh Limbu, Roshni, Aaska, Namarata, Shruti, Nimi, Niru, Junu Ghale, Sukmita Gurung, Amir, Om, Kiran Shahi, Sonu, Yangin, Kazim Gurung, Bindu Thapa Magar, Chanda Gurung, Prasan, Kristina, Gam, Sujata, Sunita, Sujan, Tek Gurung, Gori, Laxmi, Jit Gurung, Ramkumar Singh, Suryamani Gurung, Tulsi Gurung, Chandrakasi, and Indira Gurung who presented their artistic talents. The audience remained engaged throughout the cultural program as our artists kept bringing one good item after another. The emcees of the event, Harkajang Gurung and Srijana Gurung entertained the audience with their funny anecdotes.

Former President of Tamu Society and the current General Secretary of FIPNA, Arjun Gurung informed everyone about the Nepal Wireless Project (one dollar per month campaign) and an Everest expedition by a Gurung youth, Mr. Tika Gurung in Nepal. He then announced winners of the essay competition for Tamu youths. Dr. Damayanti Gurung, adviser of Tamu Society handed cash prizes to the winners – Aska Gurung, Roshni Gurung and Neeru Gurung who grabbed first, second, and third prizes respectively. On the special occasion of the 10^th anniversary, Tamu Society honored its life members with a tradition khada and a certificate of appreciation. Dr. Sukh Gurung, adviser of Tamu Society distributed the certificates. President of Tamu Society then thanked the coordinators, artists, volunteers and everyone for their support. He then distributed certificates to all participants of the Lhochar cultural program. After this, people danced until the wee hours on many DJ numbers. It was indeed a well organized and successful event.