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Dear Satrangis, Happy new year to all of you. Thank you for all of your support through out the years. I would especially like to thank our wonderful volunteers, performers and pioneering members of the South Asian queer movement of our Satrang community, who have worked tirelessly devoting their time and dedication to our family. I am filled with amazement at all of Satrang's fantastic achievements. Looking back, I remember Satrang as a continued source of support, family, friends, community for me and I know for so many of you, a place where you can be yourself, amongst people who support you and work towards greater visibility and outreach for our community. There has been focused effort on raising awareness and our visibility in broader main stream and LGBT communities. This has been reflected in our increased participation in LA pride - Satrang Float for the first time and Town Hall and mela in Little India. I am proud to announce that we will be marching and boothing at Long Beach pride next year for the very first time. The key to a successful organization is open communication, transparency and free flowing of ideas. We strive to be all three. It is my hope that all of you would feel comfortable in sharing you ideas in terms of programming, fund raising and outreach with your board. And we love positive feedback. So next time you see one of us, do tell us how fabulous we are! Your Satrang Board has worked for so many years to create and maintain that safe space for you. This year will be no different; however, I must add that due to the distressed economy, Satrang did not receive the grants that we had been hoping to get this year. However, this year we also have our biggest Board yet -- 10 members! In addition to existing members -- myself, Komal Bhojwani, Salman Husainy, Ken, Sheena Malhotra and Aisha Malik -- we added four new members -- Manoj Kumar (a returning Board member), Gina Singh, Parind Shah and Shahbaz. Welcome! It is with a sense of urgency that I request your continued involvement both via volunteering and donations to help support your Satrang family. We will together continue our incredible work and be the safe space that is so needed within our community, so no one would feel that they are alone and that they have to lead hidden lives. I applaud your determination and urge you all to share your expertise, time and love with your Satrang family during the coming year. Regards, Vikas

Your Satrang board members work hard to put on fabulous parties as well as providing education, community outreach and support. When you see them, give them a big hug:  Vikas Sood, President  Komal Bhojwani  Salman Husainy, Events Co-Chair  Sheena Malhotra  Ken  Aisha Malik  Gina Singh  Parind Shah, Online Coordinator  Shahbaz, Youth Outreach  Manoj Kumar, Treasurer Your Board works hard (and has fun!) contributing our time and money to create events for you and a support network for our community. We've got big things planned this year so do help out! You can specify which programs you'd like your money to go towards. Donations to Satrang above $25 are tax-deductible. If you'd like a receipt, just let us know when you make the gift. If you can't give money, your time is even more valuable. See us for volunteer opportunities. Donate Volunteer Opportunities Contact Us

Writing Workshop Four Sundays starting March 13 to April 3, 2011 from 12pm to 3pm Satrang is excited and honored that D'Lo is holding the third annual writer's workshop for Satrang community members and invited guests. D'Lo is not only a leader in the artistic/educator/activist community but has been a teacher and mentor for the Satrang community. Our stories are unique and powerful and in sharing them with each other and the world, we create transformation. Satrang and D’Lo create a protected yet freeing environment in which we can craft our stories and coming out processes. No prior experience is necessary; just be open and willing to create something new. Writers and non-writers welcome. The workshop will be held in four sessions, culminating in a public reading at a later date where workshop participants can choose to share their work or not. When Four Sundays March 13, 2011 March 20, 2011 March 27, 2011 April 3, 2011 12pm to 3pm Where Southern California Library 6120 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90044 Cost FREE!

Diwali / Eid Gala Every year, this event gets better and better and 2010 was no exception! Gorgeous partygoers at a gorgeous venue danced the night away and celebrated our diversity and sexuality! An ENORMOUS THANK YOU to all our marvelous volunteers who made everything run smoothly and a special thank you to Saqib Shaikh and Shahbaz Syed from A Seed & Stone for making the place look gorgeous.    SAN/Satrang Town Hall Last year South Asian Network (SAN) and Satrang held their first ever joint Town Hall on LGBT issues for the wider South Asian community. It was a smashing success! Liberty Hill grantors funded the effort and SAN and Satrang pooled their resources and talents to bring together a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Highlights of the event included a live skit about a daughter coming out to her parents (performed by Satrangis Salman Husainy, Komal Bhojwani and Karuna Sharma) and two documentary videos (courtesy of Trikone and Abhishek Sheetal), one about a South Asian's family's acceptance of their gay son and another about transgendered South Asians. The skit and videos generated a lively discussion in the audience. Many people reflected on their previous experiences of people who they had not realized were LGBT, and said that their understanding had changed as a result of this information. Perhaps the most powerful moment came in response to a question from the audience: "Are there any gay people here today?" Several people stood at the front of the room and came out, one by one. A few of them also answered questions from the audience about their relationships with their families. Publicizing the event among the greater South Asian community proved challenging. Most businesses in Artesia ("Little India") allowed flyers to be posted, but before the event, SAN member Joyti Chand and Satrangi Salman Husainy were handing out flyers for the event at a local mosque, with whom SAN has a previous working relationship, when they were surrounded and accosted by mosque leaders and attendees and told to leave the premises. This highlights the need for greater awareness in the community. The Town Hall proved that many of our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, cousins and relatives, are willing to open their hearts and minds if they are educated and informed. After the Town Hall, many SAN members and Satrangis marched the streets of Artesia raising banners and shouting slogans for tolerance and acceptance of all sexualities and equal rights for all. Walking hand-in-hand with our straight brothers and sisters sends a powerful message to the community and is a great leap forward.

Has Satrang been a lifesaver for you? Do you feel like Satrangis are part of your family? Would you like to help create that same wonderful feeling for other queer S. Asians and feel good about yourself at the same time? Are you wondering why the hands in the picture are white and not brown? Are you tired of all these questions? Satrang is southern California's only organization dedicated to providing a safe space for queer S. Asians and serving on the Board is an incredibly fulfilling experience. You make a lot of new friends and deepen your relationships with your existing Satrangi friends. Just ask anyone who has served on the Board. So if you work well in a team, are committed to the idea of a safe space for South Asian queers, and are willing to roll your sleeves up, we want you! The current board will have served for two years this November (and some of them have served for well over six years!). We are looking for additional members to join our board. Whether you have served in the past or not, consider applying to be a part of this fun group. We meet once a month for three hours, and we go on a weekend retreat once a year (where we have a ton of fun, as the photos below attest!). On average, we spend about an hour or two a week on Satrang-related work, although sometimes this is less and sometimes more, depending on the upcoming events. Last year was a banner year for Satrang in more ways than one. Thanks to a generous grant from Astraea, we were able to post advertisements for Satrang in major South Asian periodicals. The purpose of these ads is to educate and inform the greater South Asian community about our existence. We used the ads to let them know that LGBT people come in all forms -- we are doctors and lawyers, men and women, Muslim and Hindu, and we are a part of your families. Thanks to Vimmi Jaggi for designing the ads and getting them in the papers for us. Here are some examples of the ads as they appeared in the newspapers.

Do you have a story or article for the newsletter? Would you like to help us put it out every month? Printed copies of our ground-breaking Needs Assessment Report are available for free at our events. If you'd like to read it online, please go to Satrang.org and click on the link for the Needs Assessment Report. The Southern California Library houses Satrang's collection of queer-related books and DVDS so get down there and check them out: Southern California Library 6120 S. Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 759-6063 www.socallib.org

CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE All information in this email, including names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and locations are CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVATE, to be used only for the support and enrichment of Satrang and its members. Please DO NOT USE the information in this email for any other reason, such as solicitation or harassment. Please respect the privacy of our members and forward this email with discretion only. If we find out that you have violated the privacy or confidentiality of Satrang or its members, we're going to sic Rashmi on you and you'll wish we used a lawyer instead, which we reserve the right to do as well if you really annoy us.

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