IAS India 75th Independence Day Celebrations – Parade at California State Capitol & Celebrations

SACRAMENTO (TIP): Over five thousand people, who used to come every year from the Greater Sacramento area and further away in the California-USA, to witness the India Day celebrations organized by the Indian Association of Sacramento (IAS) for the past 15 years. In the United States, Indian American organizations celebrate their motherland’s Independence annually at numerous venues, with parades, and other functions. This year, all indoor events are obviously out of question due to Covid-19 pandemic, delta variant presence, and social distancing measures in place.  On Aug 15th, 2021 at 10AM, IAS unfurled the Indian tricolor flag in the lawn area in front of the California State Capitol. On the same day at 9AM, IAS conducted a car parade at State Capitol, Sacramento with over 30 decorated cars to mark the 75th year of Indian Independence

Paresh Sinha, Parade Lead and Vandna Sharma the IAS Vice President planned and led the car parade. Over 30 cars were decorated with Indian and US flags, Indian regional leaders & distinguished personnel, monuments, and cultural representative symbols. Dr. Bhavin Parikh, Venu Mallesara, Shekher Tiwari, and Venkat Nagam helped with the car parade event coordination. The IAS board members, local Folsom city council member YK Chalamcherla, IAS supporting organization’s members, and several community members joined the car parade. The local Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board Member, Chris Clark said that the Indian Independence was marked largely by non-violent resistance and civil disobedience, and Independence Day is celebrated by the Indian diaspora worldwide. Rancho Cordova City Councilmember, Siri Pulipati said Sacramento would not be the place it is without our thriving Indian-American community.

Paresh and Vandana decorated their cars with colorful Indian flags and led the car parade. Other Indian-American participants decorated their respective cars with tricolor flags and rallied around the State Capitol for about 15 mins. According to IAS President Bhaskar Vempati, “It was the first time ever in region history that India’s largest tricolor flag has been unfurled at the iconic CA State Capital venue in all its glory. On this very special day when our mother country is celebrating her 75th birthday, I wish everyone a very happy Indian Independence Day”.

“This year’s Independence Day will mark a new chapter in IAS’s history, organizing India Day car parade, celebrating India’s Independence Day at the State Capitol building and an online event for the second time in a row,” organizers said. IAS Board of Trustee Dr Bhavin Parikh said with the unfurling of the tricolor at the California State Capitol Building, history has been created for the 2nd time in a row. A large number of people, dressed in traditional Indian clothes and wearing masks, joined the celebration in front of the CA State Capitol building. Waving the Indian and American flags, the people shouted slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’.  The Indian national anthem was sung by the crowd. Sudheer Padinchara, Amar Pawar, Rajesh Yakkali, Sathish Moola, and Venu Acharya welcomed the attendees. The crowd erupted in huge cheers and applause as the Indian tricolor flag was raised in front of CA State Capital, alongside the American flag, commenting that it was indeed a proud and historic moment created for all.

IAS vice president Vandana Sharma said it was a historic moment for the Indian community that the tricolor was unfurled in front of the CA State Capitol. “It is indeed a proud moment for all of us,” she said. IAS Joint Secretary Gobi Ramasamy said, “Over the last 75 years, India emerged as a largest democratic country and an example of global peace”. The Indian Association treasurer, Amitab Shaikh said “it is great to see the attendees joining the Capitol event in their regional traditional attire. The United States has a Vice President who is of Indian origin – which is special for this year”. Another IAS ex-president Ajit Natu thanked everyone who participated in the car parade beating the COVID pandemic in Sacramento.

Later that day on 15th, at 5PM hundreds of members of the Indian-American community-based in Greater Sacramento & across the world participated in the IAS Virtual India Day Celebrations live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube.  They all were mesmerized by watching colorful rich Indian cultural performances for about 2.0 hrs non-stop and congratulated the cultural show participants and show leads, Madhuri Natu, Darshana Amin, Ranju Verma, Shivesh Sinha, and Romesh Trivedi. Consulate General of India at San Francisco’s Indian Consulate, Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad attended IAS India Day virtually and wished the Sacramento Indian Community on the occasion of 75th Independence Day. He spoke about the services provided by the consulate and how they are trying to help people to make it easier for them to get what they need in the pandemic. Virtual show viewer Swarnarekha Roy said, “I am so proud to be an Indian!!! Stunning choreography and excellent performance. Kudos to the team behind this piece of creation”. IAS representative Venugopal Acharya said, “the performers have worked hard in the middle of the pandemic to put up a nice show for India Day”. Another virtual show viewer Mangatram Lachhani said “​Stunning performances. Unity in diversity. IAS India Day is a real example”. IAS thanked everyone for supporting IAS’s new way of celebrating India Day 2nd year in a row during COVID-19 pandemic.  For those who missed the IAS India Day event, IAS encourages them to enjoy the event records using these links.

Facebook link:

https://tinyurl.com/IASIndiaDay2021Video

Youtube link:

https://tinyurl.com/IASIndiaday2021Youtube

The list of top three virtual performance winners are MMSAC, Light of Dance Academy, and Ankur. The virtual show also provided raffle prizes to the 10 attendees. IAS thanked Annachikdai Restaurant – Folsom, The Grand Cuisine – Roseville, Sanskrit Restaurant – Folsom, Chicago Pizza, Folsom, and Curry Bowl – Folsom for sponsoring the raffle prizes.

IAS officers Ranju Verma, Amitab Shaikh, and Gobi Ramaswamy expressed sincere thanks to the virtual show sponsors, Hindu American Foundation, Five Star Bank, Stratus Environmental, Manabadi Telugu school, Annapoorna USA Foundation, Suvidha International Foundation, and Kavita Sood, Insurance and Financial Services and the annual sponsors, Shankar Pathi – Realtor & Loan Officer, Reliance Super Mart, Satheesh Nagaraj – Realtor & Loan Officer, and Dr. Amar Pawar.

Established in 2005, the Indian Association of Sacramento is one of the largest umbrella organizations in the Indian community. Since 2006, the IAS has been organizing India Day annually, which showcases India’s cultural heritage and history. Since its inception, IAS has raised over $160,000 in funds for helping out several non-profits in and out of the USA. In the last one and a half year, IAS raised $12,000 funds and assisted needy people living in Greater Sacramento with face masks, meals, groceries, medical and school supplies. IAS media representatives Venu Mallesara, and Venkat Nagam suggested the readers visit the IAS website: http://www.iassac.org/ & FB page https://www.facebook.com/IndiaDaySacramento for more information about IAS and its events/activities spread throughout the year.

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