The Indian Panorama

Tag: The South Asian Times

  • FIA and Indian American community held a commemorative celebration to mark the historic announcement of Garba’s Inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

    FIA and Indian American community held a commemorative celebration to mark the historic announcement of Garba’s Inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

    TIMES SQUARE, NY CITY (TIP): Times Square reverberated with the beats and music of ‘Garba’ as members of the Indian-American community performed the traditional Gujarati dance at the iconic New York City destination to celebrate its inclusion in UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.
    FIA NY-NJ-CT-NE along with support from a host of community organizations and Consulate General of India NY, held a commemorative garba celebration at the ‘Crossroads of the world’, – Times Square. The celebration marked the recent inclusion of Garba as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

    Garba, considered to be among the oldest forms of group dance and longest dance festival spanning 9 nights (Navratri) is a very popular group folk dance form in key states of India including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. It has gained sensational liking among the overseas Indian diaspora in countries like the UAE (Dubai), USA, UK, Australia, Canada and many others. This historic, prestigious and distinguished milestone Tag of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was announced during UNESCO’s 18th session in Kasane, Botswana on December 6th 2023. The leading organization for this initiative, the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE (FIA) extended an open invitation to the entire Indian American community to join in this momentous celebration at Times Square, NYC which was supported by Consulate General of India NY. Free transportation, complimentary refreshments and participation certificates shall be provided for all performing attendees. The event was a spectacular showcase of the rich cultural heritage of Gujarat as attendees donned traditional Garba attires. The vivid colors and intricate designs of their attire were a sight to behold, and one could feel the energy and pride emanating from them as they represented their culture on a global platform. The atmosphere was electric with excitement and anticipation, and it was clear that everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

    In addition to the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE, the event was made possible through the support and collaboration of esteemed partner organizations, including the Consulate General of India, New York, GANA, BJANA, Siddhivinayak Temple USA, Times Group, Aaj Tak, The Indian Panorama, EBC Radio, The South Asian Times, AUM Dance Academy, Parikh WorldWide media, TV Asia, ITV gold, World BB TV, New India Abroad, The Indian Eye, Radio Zindagi, and Radio Dil.

  • Great enthusiasm in community for 10th India Day Parade in Hicksville on Aug 8

    Great enthusiasm in community for 10th India Day Parade in Hicksville on Aug 8

    Ambassador Jaiswal, film star Kajal Aggarwal and Dr Jay Sarkar are Grand Marshalls.

    GARDEN CITY, NY: The 10th India Day Parade of Long Island to be held in Hicksville, NY on Sunday, August 8, 2021 to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day has generated great enthusiasm among the Indian community, said officials of IDP USA, organizer of the parade, at a press conference on July 28 at Mint Restaurant in Garden City, NY.

    Tens of thousands are expected to march in the parade and cheer it from the sidewalks as it starts at 1 PM from Patel Brothers and walk down the Little India part of Hicksville to culminate near Asa Mai Hindu temple on East Barclay Street where the entertainment stage will be set up with a live DJ as well as stalls selling ethnic goodies and food. Admission is free.

    : IDP USA Past President and current Vice President Jay Jasbir Singh implored the community and community organizations to support the parade with presence and generous contributions

    Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, who had graced the parade curtain raiser at the Indian Consulate on June 24, is Grand Marshall. Renowned film star Kajal Aggarwal and Philanthropist, Entrepreneur and Life Consultant Dr Jay Sarkar will also lead the parade as Grand Marshalls, informed Deepak Bansal, President of IDP USA, who thanked the IDP USA office bearers and committee chairs for working day in and day out to make preparations for the massive parade.

    Mr. Bansal thanked in particular active support and guidance from Jasbir Jay Singh, under whose presidency the parade in 2019 and the gala that followed were the talk of Long Island. Mr. Bansal implored the community to open their hearts and wallets as this parade is expected to be super-successful, coming as it does after last year’s parade during the peak of the pandemic and was restricted to a car rally.

    IDP USA key officials with a co-founder Bobby Kalotee

    The parade’s four Guests of Honor are: internationally renowned oncologist and Padma Shri Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, Diwali Foundation USA Chair Ranju Batra, Navika Group CEO and President Naveen Shah and young guru and motivational speaker Ishan Shivanand.

    The names of honorees at the parade and at the gala will be announced subsequently.

    A highlight of the parade will be a raffle, where the top prize is a car sponsored by DP Singh of Meetu Magic. Other exciting prizes include jewelry, smartphone and cash.

    The parade this year is supported by top brands and names as Grand Sponsors including Phalguni Chintu Patel, Shiv Yog, Navika Group, Bolla Market, The South Asian Times, CheapOair, Patel Brothers, Vass Pipe, The Portables Choice Corp, PICC, Flushing Bank, Maharaja, Badshah, Commercial Capital Funding Group, Elevator the movie, Indian Visa Center, Omni Mortgage, and HAB Bank. Several media organizations are also supporting the parade by promoting it.

    A view of the gathering

    Addressing the press conference attended by representatives of leading newspapers and electronic media, IDP USA Founders Bobby K. Kalotee and Kamlesh C. Mehta said that this parade is special as it is celebrating India’s landmark 75th Independence Day and that it is timed well as pandemic restrictions have been lifted. It is also the only parade in the entire New York state.

    Past President Jay Singh implored the community and community organizations to come one and all to the parade in Hicksville on August 8 and support it by way of taking out floats and booths as well as booking ads in the souvenir which will be released at the gala celebrating the success of the parade at Antun’s by Minar on Thursday August 19, 2021. 30 booths and 9 floats have already been booked.

    Dr Jay Sarkar said he is honored to represent India and the community, and that we should thank both India, our motherland, for our heritage and culture, and America, our adopted country, which allows us to practice our traditions and showcase them at an event like this parade.

    IDP USA was established in 2012 to create awareness of Indian contributions to the local community by celebrating India’s Independence Day every year. A 501(c) non-profit tax-exempt organization, its mission is to empower the Indian community through promoting economic development, education, community leadership, social advancement and environmental awareness. The non-partisan and secular IDP USA brings together over 100 religious, cultural, regional, and charity organizations serving the community.

    (Press release)