BY SONAM MIRPURI
CERRITOS, CA - Inspirational stories, a discussion by women entrepreneurs, and a debate with men versus women were the highlights of an evening dedicated to women hosted by the National Federation of Indian American Association , at the Sheraton Hotel here on July 22. This night was the first NFIA Women’s Conference in...
CERRITOS, CA - Inspirational stories, a discussion by women entrepreneurs, and a debate with men versus women were the highlights of an evening dedicated to women hosted by the National Federation of Indian American Association , at the Sheraton Hotel here on July 22. This night was the first NFIA Women’s Conference in...
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Southern California. “Be the Change to See the Change” was the overarching theme. Unfortunately, due to a delay, the program began much later than scheduled. To entertain the restless audience some parts of the planned events were reorganized and some canceled altogether. Siddharth Philar and Harini Desai sang popular tracks to commence the evening. Comedian Rajiv Satyal also the emcee , came on stage to continually amuse the audience after being introduced by Ashok Patnaik.
Satyal introduced Miss New Jersey USA 2017, Chhavi Verg and Miss California Earth 2017, Trisha Batra. Patnaik introduced the Chief Guest, Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhry.
AjoyDube then welcomed all the guests while Kewal Kanda recognized the sponsors.
“I want to take this time to thank the audience for attending and the sponsors for their support. Without either of these parties this event would not be possible,” said Kanda. Dilip Butani recognized Mayor of Artesia Ali Sajjad Taj, as well as Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Mark Pulido. They presented certificates to Sudip Gorakshakar, President of NFIA, and Vasu Pawar, Convener of the evening, and other committee members. A lamp lighting ceremony followed, after which the American and Indian National Anthems were sang by Sampurna Dube. Gorakshakar then addressing the gathering said, “Women are a very important part of every aspect.” He concluded his speech by thanking all the sponsors, well-wishers, and media for their support.
Taking to the podium Vasu Pawar said, “Women today have revolutionized every industry.” Pawar mentioned that women need to celebrate the advancements that have been made and continue to make more strides.“Do not hesitate. Be bold and take chances,” said Pawar. Iinspirational stories from the young women then followed. Miss New Jersey Verg, was the first of the three youth speakers to come on stage. She spoke about her experiences in the pageant world and how those incidents have shaped her life. One of the greatest concepts she learned was everything is in the eye of the beholder. “Your perception changes your reality,” said Verg. She also spoke about her failures and how she has used them as stepping stones.
Miss California Earth 2017, Batra, spoke about her interests and how we should help girls be a part of every industry.“It is important for girls to be a part of science, technology, engineering,and mathematics (STEM),” said Batra.
Nikita Krishnan, Founder and President of Creature Comfort and Care, a company she started which utilizes 3D printers to build devices for animals, spoke about her experiences and how she never gave up.“This experience has thought me to keep going,” said Krishnan. The next set of inspirational stories came from Deepi Singh, Aparna Hande, LalitaSatyal, and Sharon Edwards. Singh was the first to express her story. “It takes courage to stand alone and strive,” said Singh.
Hande spoake about her life endeavors as well as gave the audience some advice.
“If you work on your dream, you will be able to achieve it,” said Hande.
Lalita Satyal making an interesting point said,“It is of utmost importance to believe in yourself. Then support from family, friends, and the community help.” Edwards gave the audience the most heart tugging story. “I have learned that time does not heal all wounds, forgiveness does. It is my choice to forgive,” said Edwards.
Patnaik then introduced the Chief Guest. Chaudhry came on stage to be presented with flowers by Gorakshakar and Pawar and a plaque as a token of appreciation. “I am tongue tied because of all the stories presented here today,” said Chaudhry.
The second segment was a discussion by women entrepreneurs - Mini Guleria, Chair; Sonika Kinra, Moderator; Smita Vasant and Stacy Lewis, entrepreneurs. “Inspiration can be found anywhere,” said Vasant. “Natural talent , hard and focused work, great networks , kindness equal success,” said Lewis. Then it was time for the most controversial aspect of the evening, the debate.Dr. Kanan Modi, Chair and panelist; Rupsi Burman, Moderator; Raj Razdhan, Toni Das Gupta, Pooja Thomre, Inder Singh, Harkeerat Dhillion, and Kishore Vasant were the other participants of the debate. Burman asked the questions to the debate panelists who gave their corresponding answers. All of them agreed on two points: actions speak louder than words and communication is key. Due to the delay , dinner was served during the program. Attendees ate dinner as they watched the debate progress. Once all of Burman’s questions were answered, Satyal introduced the keynote speaker for the evening: Dr. Neeta Bheda, famous astrologer, Vastu, and Tarot Card Reader. Bheda came on stage and spoke to whoever was left in the audience about women and how they have to be stronger. “Live in the present. Do not look in the past and do not stress about the future,” said Bheda . The conference ended with Pawar thanking all you came. Students of the Leela Dance Institute for the Arts kept guests entertained through the evening.
Satyal introduced Miss New Jersey USA 2017, Chhavi Verg and Miss California Earth 2017, Trisha Batra. Patnaik introduced the Chief Guest, Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhry.
AjoyDube then welcomed all the guests while Kewal Kanda recognized the sponsors.
“I want to take this time to thank the audience for attending and the sponsors for their support. Without either of these parties this event would not be possible,” said Kanda. Dilip Butani recognized Mayor of Artesia Ali Sajjad Taj, as well as Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Mark Pulido. They presented certificates to Sudip Gorakshakar, President of NFIA, and Vasu Pawar, Convener of the evening, and other committee members. A lamp lighting ceremony followed, after which the American and Indian National Anthems were sang by Sampurna Dube. Gorakshakar then addressing the gathering said, “Women are a very important part of every aspect.” He concluded his speech by thanking all the sponsors, well-wishers, and media for their support.
Taking to the podium Vasu Pawar said, “Women today have revolutionized every industry.” Pawar mentioned that women need to celebrate the advancements that have been made and continue to make more strides.“Do not hesitate. Be bold and take chances,” said Pawar. Iinspirational stories from the young women then followed. Miss New Jersey Verg, was the first of the three youth speakers to come on stage. She spoke about her experiences in the pageant world and how those incidents have shaped her life. One of the greatest concepts she learned was everything is in the eye of the beholder. “Your perception changes your reality,” said Verg. She also spoke about her failures and how she has used them as stepping stones.
Miss California Earth 2017, Batra, spoke about her interests and how we should help girls be a part of every industry.“It is important for girls to be a part of science, technology, engineering,and mathematics (STEM),” said Batra.
Nikita Krishnan, Founder and President of Creature Comfort and Care, a company she started which utilizes 3D printers to build devices for animals, spoke about her experiences and how she never gave up.“This experience has thought me to keep going,” said Krishnan. The next set of inspirational stories came from Deepi Singh, Aparna Hande, LalitaSatyal, and Sharon Edwards. Singh was the first to express her story. “It takes courage to stand alone and strive,” said Singh.
Hande spoake about her life endeavors as well as gave the audience some advice.
“If you work on your dream, you will be able to achieve it,” said Hande.
Lalita Satyal making an interesting point said,“It is of utmost importance to believe in yourself. Then support from family, friends, and the community help.” Edwards gave the audience the most heart tugging story. “I have learned that time does not heal all wounds, forgiveness does. It is my choice to forgive,” said Edwards.
Patnaik then introduced the Chief Guest. Chaudhry came on stage to be presented with flowers by Gorakshakar and Pawar and a plaque as a token of appreciation. “I am tongue tied because of all the stories presented here today,” said Chaudhry.
The second segment was a discussion by women entrepreneurs - Mini Guleria, Chair; Sonika Kinra, Moderator; Smita Vasant and Stacy Lewis, entrepreneurs. “Inspiration can be found anywhere,” said Vasant. “Natural talent , hard and focused work, great networks , kindness equal success,” said Lewis. Then it was time for the most controversial aspect of the evening, the debate.Dr. Kanan Modi, Chair and panelist; Rupsi Burman, Moderator; Raj Razdhan, Toni Das Gupta, Pooja Thomre, Inder Singh, Harkeerat Dhillion, and Kishore Vasant were the other participants of the debate. Burman asked the questions to the debate panelists who gave their corresponding answers. All of them agreed on two points: actions speak louder than words and communication is key. Due to the delay , dinner was served during the program. Attendees ate dinner as they watched the debate progress. Once all of Burman’s questions were answered, Satyal introduced the keynote speaker for the evening: Dr. Neeta Bheda, famous astrologer, Vastu, and Tarot Card Reader. Bheda came on stage and spoke to whoever was left in the audience about women and how they have to be stronger. “Live in the present. Do not look in the past and do not stress about the future,” said Bheda . The conference ended with Pawar thanking all you came. Students of the Leela Dance Institute for the Arts kept guests entertained through the evening.
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