About Utsav
Our Journey
Utsav was founded in 2002, with one goal: creating a positive and enjoyable experience of friendship, happiness, charity, and harmony via our Indian/Bengali heritage. Although Utsav is predominantly a Bengali organization so far, we want to reach other communities as well. Membership in Utsav is not limited to any particular race, religion, color, or ethnic origin. Utsav believes in inclusion and in working together for the community.
The Beginning: It was a fine afternoon of Bosontotsav, 2002. A few new Bengali arrivals in Sacramento were standing in front of 1317 Montridge Ct., El Dorado Hills, reminiscing over the Bani Bandana celebrations in their homeland in India. The participants in that gathering – Deb Saha, Udayan Chanda (UC), Arun Chowdhury, Samrat Basu, Anirban Bhattacharya, Suvayu Bose, and Joy Mukherjee – all felt the need to host their own Sharodotsav in Sacramento, and the idea of an organization was thus born. In an hour, they came up with the name, Utsav, first proposed by Suvayu Bose. Later, Mala Paul designed the Utsav logo.
A few weeks after that momentous gathering, several Sacramento Bengali old-timers were contacted with the help of Mita Chakraborty. Everyone who we spoke to was excited to have our own Sharodotsav and to have our own organization. Through this process of joyous interactions between the new arrivals and the old-timers of Sacramento, Utsav found some strong pillars in the names of Adi and Mitra Choudri, Shantanu Basu, Somen Nandi, Biswanath Mukherjee, and few others, who had an immediate impact on making Utsav a grand success.
In July 2002, Utsav was officially formed. Adi Choudri, Deb Saha, Udayan Chanda, Arijit Chattopadhyay, and Joy Mukherjee – with smiles, happiness, and glitters in their eyes – signed the official paperwork. We celebrated our first Sharodotsav in October 2002. The participation of member families was outstanding, and the joy was boundless. With time, the Utsav tree has expanded and, the bonds among families have grown deeper.
The baton of responsibility has transferred to other able hands from the hands of those who started the organization. But the founders and senior members continued to remain very active in different roles.
Our Past Leadership
Past Leadership
Utsav members currently include more than 100 families, from which several individuals are elected every two years to serve as officers. (For the first few years, our elections were held annually.) So far, many of our members have ably served our organization with the leadership of our following Presidents:
- 2003: Arijit Chattopadhyay
- 2004: Udayan Chanda
- 2005: Mitra Choudri
- 2006: Biswanath Mukherjee
- 2007: Dipankar Chattopadhyay
- 2008: Deb Saha
- 2009: Adi Choudri
- 2010: Sharmila Mukherjee
- 2011-2012: Joy Mukherjee
- 2013-2014: Ajay Joshi
- 2015-2016: Sanjib Nayak
- 2017-2018: Rajat Saha
- 2019-2020: Joydeep Ray
- 2021-2022: Somen Nandi
- 2023-2024 : Sangita Biswas
Support Utsav
Enjoy exclusive access to events, discounts, and a vibrant community of like-minded individuals. Your membership helps support cultural preservation and community outreach programs.
Sponsors
Our Sponsors
our amazing sponsors for making this event possible! Your support brings our community together. Join us for exciting cultural events and activities that bring our community together. From traditional festivals to modern performances, there’s something for everyone!
