BY NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
VAN NUYS, CA – The annual fair hosted by the India Association of Los Angeles here on Aug.25, was a fuss-free event. There was no famed and starry name and the attendant fan craziness. Instead it turned out to be a well-organized and - believe it or not - mostly running on time kind of event that so many Indian organizations...
VAN NUYS, CA – The annual fair hosted by the India Association of Los Angeles here on Aug.25, was a fuss-free event. There was no famed and starry name and the attendant fan craziness. Instead it turned out to be a well-organized and - believe it or not - mostly running on time kind of event that so many Indian organizations...
seem to fail to produce. So, the crowd sat patiently listening to the speeches on stage and more importantly, the speakers did as the emcee Sunil Agrawal bid them to do, not trying to hog the mike or do something unscheduled. Other than thanking volunteers, the speeches too managed to not get too repetitive.
As ‘Vande Mataram’ belted through the grounds, IALA officials and guests gathered on stage. First up was its founder, the indefatigable Inder Singh. Crisply rolling out the accomplishments of the community in various fields and expressing ‘gratitude’ to President Donald Trump for making Indian-American appointments in his administration, he declared that India’s independence movement was launched in 1913 with the Gadariites, earlier than in India itself.
Other IALA officials who spoke were Chairman of the board Vinod Manchhani who said that the organization’s active membership had risen to a robust 250. President , Executive Committee Manmohan Chopra, dressed in all white and espousing the cause of harmony and world peace chanted the Shanti mantra, ‘Sarve bhavantu,’ and said that in keeping with the teachings of the sages, he had decided to bring different peoples together. Those invited to the event were the Consul General of Sri Lanka Swarna Gunaratne and Eitan Weiss from Israel’s consulate in L.A.
It was the coming together of people that was lauded by Congressman Brad Sherman. In the 18 years that IALA has held this event, the Democratic representative from the 30th District has been a constant presence. The Indian-American community in the San Fernando Valley, he avowed, was where the SoCal heart of the community lay. “Eat your heart out Cerritos!” he called out to smiles and claps. Praising IALA he said the organization was successfully “bringing all of the San Fernando Valley to the Indian-American community.” A ranking member of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia, Sherman touched on Indo-US relations with his talking points being the recently concluded Malabar military exercise, the $15billion arms trade and the defense partnership that permits the use of each other’s naval ports.
At a time when India and China are jostling in Sri Lanka, its Consul General stated that Indian leadership in the region mattered. Gunaratne concluded by quoting Mahatma Gandhi – Happiness is when, what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony – and saying, “let us work together to create harmony of existence.”
Also present was Asit Dutta from the Indian Consulate in San Francisco who told the crowd, “it’s nice to see how your heart beats for India.” Among the volunteers and sponsors and recognized was the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of L.A.
Stalls and Services While this formed the formal segment, there was plenty to do for the crowd that gathered on the grounds of the Birmingham High School grounds from 3 to 10 pm. A two hour long free health fair was a crowded affair with many availing of the services including eye check-ups.The cultural program saw a slew of performances that ranged from the patriotic, classical, folk and Bollywood numbers. With a wide range of music and dance schools around in Southern California, the talent on stage was plentiful as colorful costumes and melodious music wafted from the stage on to the entire grounds.
Children were seen running around participating in wheel of fortune like games and sitting in a toy train.
People strolled around the stalls that ringed the perimeter of the fair grounds indulging in Indian foods, kulfi and juices. A number of vendors hawked clothes and jewelry; one of them back2roots.us even promising to send a small percentage of the sales to victims of the recent floods in Kerala. Religion was evident: temples, gurdwara and a church with their books and fliers.
A critically important booth was one tasked with voter registration. A quick stop there unfortunately indicated that by early evening not many had come by yet – the hope being that by the end of the day, many would choose to want to go to the polls in November.
As ‘Vande Mataram’ belted through the grounds, IALA officials and guests gathered on stage. First up was its founder, the indefatigable Inder Singh. Crisply rolling out the accomplishments of the community in various fields and expressing ‘gratitude’ to President Donald Trump for making Indian-American appointments in his administration, he declared that India’s independence movement was launched in 1913 with the Gadariites, earlier than in India itself.
Other IALA officials who spoke were Chairman of the board Vinod Manchhani who said that the organization’s active membership had risen to a robust 250. President , Executive Committee Manmohan Chopra, dressed in all white and espousing the cause of harmony and world peace chanted the Shanti mantra, ‘Sarve bhavantu,’ and said that in keeping with the teachings of the sages, he had decided to bring different peoples together. Those invited to the event were the Consul General of Sri Lanka Swarna Gunaratne and Eitan Weiss from Israel’s consulate in L.A.
It was the coming together of people that was lauded by Congressman Brad Sherman. In the 18 years that IALA has held this event, the Democratic representative from the 30th District has been a constant presence. The Indian-American community in the San Fernando Valley, he avowed, was where the SoCal heart of the community lay. “Eat your heart out Cerritos!” he called out to smiles and claps. Praising IALA he said the organization was successfully “bringing all of the San Fernando Valley to the Indian-American community.” A ranking member of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia, Sherman touched on Indo-US relations with his talking points being the recently concluded Malabar military exercise, the $15billion arms trade and the defense partnership that permits the use of each other’s naval ports.
At a time when India and China are jostling in Sri Lanka, its Consul General stated that Indian leadership in the region mattered. Gunaratne concluded by quoting Mahatma Gandhi – Happiness is when, what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony – and saying, “let us work together to create harmony of existence.”
Also present was Asit Dutta from the Indian Consulate in San Francisco who told the crowd, “it’s nice to see how your heart beats for India.” Among the volunteers and sponsors and recognized was the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of L.A.
Stalls and Services While this formed the formal segment, there was plenty to do for the crowd that gathered on the grounds of the Birmingham High School grounds from 3 to 10 pm. A two hour long free health fair was a crowded affair with many availing of the services including eye check-ups.The cultural program saw a slew of performances that ranged from the patriotic, classical, folk and Bollywood numbers. With a wide range of music and dance schools around in Southern California, the talent on stage was plentiful as colorful costumes and melodious music wafted from the stage on to the entire grounds.
Children were seen running around participating in wheel of fortune like games and sitting in a toy train.
People strolled around the stalls that ringed the perimeter of the fair grounds indulging in Indian foods, kulfi and juices. A number of vendors hawked clothes and jewelry; one of them back2roots.us even promising to send a small percentage of the sales to victims of the recent floods in Kerala. Religion was evident: temples, gurdwara and a church with their books and fliers.
A critically important booth was one tasked with voter registration. A quick stop there unfortunately indicated that by early evening not many had come by yet – the hope being that by the end of the day, many would choose to want to go to the polls in November.
RSS Feed
