LONG ISLAND, NY (TIP): Woodlands at the Greens was a beehive of activity on September 9th with 300 prominent personalities, dignitaries, community and business leaders, IDP USA Team comprising of the IDP USA event Conveners – Mr. Harendra Singh, Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Ms. Indu Jaiswal, Mr. Gobind Munjal and Mr. Mohinder Singh Taneja, Committees, Chairs and Co-Chairs and Volunteers who had organized the First India Day Parade on Long Island in Hicksville to celebrate India’s 66th Independence Day in keeping with the worldwide Indian Diaspora gathered together at a posh venue to rejoice in style. Hosts mingled with guests in the classy settings of the Clubhouse at Melville on Long Island to celebrate the Gala Dinner.

Honorees, on this special occasion, for their outstanding contributions to Long Island’s ethnic diversity were Nassau County Executive Hon. Ed Mangano, Town of Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto and Mr. Bobby Kumar Kalotee who received the “Jewel of India in USA” Special Award on the occasion.

Among the many distinguished dignitaries present who were recognized and thanked for sharing this momentous occasion with IDP USA were the many honorable judges from the supreme, district, family and many other appellate and division courts and candidates for judgeship who were present, among them being – Hon. Justices Francis Ricigliano, Hon. Sheri Roman, Hon. Andrea Phoenix, Hon. O’Connor, Hon. Robert Spergel, Hon. David Sullivan, Hon. Hope Zimmerman, Hon. William O’Brien, Hon. Leslie Stein, Hon. Stephen Bucaria, Hon. Anthony Paradiso, Hon. Sandy Pardes, Hon. Douglas Lerose, Hon. Andrew Engel, Hon. Rich Porcelli, Howard Taylor and others.

Hon. John Venditto expressed his happiness at being part of the gala event. Mr. Bobby Kumar in thanking everyone present from the bottom of his heart said he was speechless and could not thank enough, recognizing the scores of individuals who supported him in his endeavors while at the same time paying tribute to his humble beginnings from a small village in India and the long road traveled leading to where he is now, an American dream come true, delivering his speech in his typical mirthful style. A short video carefully put together showcased Mr. Bobby Kumar’s life. Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Director of Business and Economic Development, Nassau County accepted the Award on behalf of Hon. Ed Mangano.

Mr. Mohinder Singh Taneja opened the event with a warm welcome to all. Introductions to the Honorees were given by Mr. Kamlesh Mehta and Mr. Animesh Goenka. Ms. Indu Jaiswal recognized and thanked her team in Indian American Forum consisting of Dr. Bhupi Patel, Dr. Azad Anand, Dr. Parveen Chopra and Dr. Arya and invited all on stage to jointly present together with all the Event Conveners a Special Gold Medal Award to Mr. Bobby Kumar in recognition of all his many outstanding achievements. In continuing with the honors and also recognised at the podium for their outstanding support were IDP USA’s lead sponsors – Mr. Harry Singh of Bolla Oil, Patel Brothers and Bollyarts, with Mr. Sanjay and Mr. Hiren Patel and Ms. Sunitha Sadhnani graciously accepting the recognition on behalf of their businesses. Among other sponsors recognized was Kingfisher Airlines.

The entertainment segment in 2 parts while the program was underway was provided by Bolly Arts with dances performed in contemporary Bollywood style having DJ Kutcha at the mike. He was thanked together with Mala Bakshi, Ajay Batra and Kanika Marwaha for all work done in moving forward the various stages of the IDP USA events and the Gala Dinner, while Mr. Lal Motwani distributed up-to-date professionally prepared copies of the IDP USA Journal to all invitees present.

Mr. Gobind Munjal heartily thanked all honorees, community leaders, fellow conveners including members of the press and media who contributed to the overall success of IDP USA. Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to all Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs and a roll call of recognition was read aloud. Among those mentioned were Mr. Rajan Nabe, Mr. Nagendra Gupta, Mr. Salil Zaveri, Mr. Raj and Mrs. Suchita Chadha, Mrs. Tina Shah, Mr. Vijay Goswamy, Mr. Ken Epstein, Mr. Ashok Sapra, Mr Rajesh Kumar, Mr. Zinda Singh, Ms. Bharti Desai, Mr. Rajendra, Nipun, Anuj and many others.
(Press Release issued by Rekha Valliappan)