FOR the Bakre family, this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations have taken on a uniquely modern twist as they blend ancient Hindu traditions with cutting-edge technology and their passion for cricket. The Indian diaspora in the United States is keeping their cultural roots alive while embracing the latest innovations. The ten-day Ganpati festival kicked off this week at the Bakre Home in Frisco, Texas. The family has created an eye-catching display that pays tribute to Lord Ganesha as well as the Indian cricket team’s recent triumph in the T20 World Cup. “Ganesh Chaturthi is one of our most important festivals, celebrating the birth of our beloved Lord Ganesha who removes obstacles. And, this year, we wanted to incorporate our joy of India’s incredible World Twenty20 victory here in the USA, too,” said Vaibhav Bakre while interacting with ‘The Hitavada’.

 

 

Vaibhav’s brother Madhav Bakre runs the reputed Nagpur Cricket Academy at Kurvey’s School ground and has recently opened an indoor cricket training facility in Raipur also. “The main attraction is an intricately decorated sacred statue of the Lord. Surrounding it is a miniature replica of a cricket stadium, complete with cut-outs of the Indian players depicting thrilling match moments from the World Cup,” Vaibhav added. The Bakres have taken the celebrations a step further by creating their own generative AI chatbot called ‘GanPaTiT20’ that visitors can interact with. “We are a family of technology enthusiasts, so we thought why not merge our love for AI with our cultural festivities?” explained Vaibhav’s daughter Vedika, a software consultant. “Anyone can ask GanPaTi-T20 any questions about Ganpati rituals, the history behind the festival, or facts about the cricketers and the matches.” Vaibhav’s colleague at AWS Sam Hays, who is an expert in emerging technologies, helped develop the innovative app. According to Hays, they created the generative AI application in less than 4 hours using AWS Bedrock, a new service that makes it very easy to build generative AI apps.

 

“The beauty of Bedrock is that it abstracts away a lot of the complexity, allowing us to quickly create a custom AI assistant for this festival,” Hays informed. “I simply provided some example queries and responses, and Bedrock’s advanced models did the rest.” The innovative AI app is proving to be a big hit, especially among second-generation Indian-American youths wanting to learn more about their heritage in an engaging way. Dozens of friends and community members have already visited the Bakre Home to pay their respects to Lord Ganesha, admire the cricket display, and chat with the AI assistant. “Celebrating our Indian festivals in America allows us to share our rich culture and keep traditions alive for future generations,” said Vaibhav’s wife Vishakha. “This year, combining it with modern tech has made it even more fun and educational.” As the Ganpati festivities continue over the next week, the Bakre family is excited to host other Indian diaspora members and showcase how their community is upholding age-old customs while seamlessly embracing innovation and new traditions like cricket fandom. They are expecting about 400 friends to visit their home during the 10 days festival. It’s truly a celebration of India’s cultural and technological prowess.