New York (Commonwealth Union)_ On the occasion of this year’s Diwali, the Indian-American communities across the United States celebrated the festival with high spirits. Accordingly, the office of Asian Community Affairs along with Nassau Deputy County Executive Anissa Moore; Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer Desena; Director of Asian American Affairs in Nassau County Arooj Islam; Founding Member of the Indian American Forum, Dr. Bobby K. Kalotee; and Chairperson Indu Jaiswal celebrated the festival of lights Diwali together with native Americans and honored the leaders of the Indian-American community.
The event was presided over by Flora Parekh, Founder & President – Gift of Life USA, and honored the achievements of the following dignitaries: Gurumaa Jyotishan and Saraswati from Vedic Heritage of India; Jasbir (Jay) Singh, Board Member of the Asian American Advisory Board of Nassau County; Meena Shah, Vaishnav Mandir – VTNY; Dr. Bharathi Reddy, Internist; Madhu Pareek from Blue Host Hospitality; Hargovind Gupta, Vice President of IALI; and Dr. Neeru Bhambri, member of At-Large IALI.
According to a media statement from the Indian American Forum, county officials, committee members and volunteers contributed to the success of the event. The statement lauded the contributions of the following people: Dr. Kalotee, Chairperson Jaiswal, Vimal Goyal, Bina Sabapathy, Veer Mukhi, Deepak Bansal, Jasbir Jay Singh, Beena Kothari, Flora Parekh, Jyoti Gupta, Anju Sharma, Nilima Madan, Shashi Malik, Indu Gajwani, and Suhag Mehta, in addition to a number of volunteers and supporters. A number of Indian American Forum board members and community leaders including Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Deepak Bansal, Mukesh Modi, Dr. Urmilesh Arya, Past Presidents of IALI, Vibhutta Jha, Anil Shah, and Dr. Kunjbala Shah were also present at the event.
The event commenced with Angel Shah singing the American and Indian national anthems, which was followed by a traditional Diya Ceremony. The attractive part of the event was the amazing Diwali dance performances by young girls and women. The place was adorned in the traditional manner by Jyoti Gupta, Anju Sanju Sharma and team members. The event ended with a delicious supper, and Prasad boxes were served to the guests and participants.
