By NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
LOS ANGELES, CA – At 93, Dr.Amarjit Singh Marwah is of a time when the fellow immigrant community was so tiny, he represented both - his faith (Sikhism) and his mother country (India) in mainstream America. And, by every account, he stepped up and did it magnificently. For all his accomplishments, riches and connections,
LOS ANGELES, CA – At 93, Dr.Amarjit Singh Marwah is of a time when the fellow immigrant community was so tiny, he represented both - his faith (Sikhism) and his mother country (India) in mainstream America. And, by every account, he stepped up and did it magnificently. For all his accomplishments, riches and connections,
  |   |
the single trait of Marwah that seems a stand out, is his generosity with a firm eye on making a difference. It was no accident then that it was repeatedly remarked upon during an event to mark the naming of the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Finley, after him by the city of Los Angeles.
On Feb.4, a large crowd headlined by the Consul General from San Francisco, Sanjay Panda, met at the intersection fronted by the Hollywood Sikh Temple. With SoCal getting pounded by rain, everyone was ushered inside the gurdwara, where the ceremonies took place.
Right off the bat, Prof. Sharon Sekhon of Cal State Fullerton who was a key player - with her interest in Southern California’s social history - in getting the signage up, made the salient point: Marwah gives and, gives without expectation of self-advancement. Arriving in the US on a Fulbright in 1950, he found his way to the Golden State in 1962 soon becoming a dentist to stars in Hollywood and friends with those in Bollywood; his business decisions also went well with him plunking some serious change in real estate.
Money and savvy combined, he was the one politicians turned to – Indian and American, they conferred with him and were hosted by him. He became the Chair of the Bombay-Los Angeles Sister City Committee and was appointed a City Commissioner for Art and Cultural Heritage by the late Mayor Tom Bradley. Immediately, Marwah showed how different he was: not only is he credited with getting 200 institutions including the iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame historic status but he also gave back every penny of the salary he received for the job.
He also hosted fundraisers for politicians without becoming one. Marwah has told the media that at a time of open bigotry he worked behind the scenes in Dalip Singh Saund’s successful campaign for Congress, never appearing beside the candidate in his trademark white turban and beard till after the elections.
David Ryu, the LA City Councilmember, responsible for the naming of the square, recalled the Saund campaign in his speech at the event, saying, “I stand on the shoulders of Dr.Marwah.” As only the second Asian-American in the city council, Ryu said that the barrier breaking work that had gone on earlier had led to the path being cleared for a new generation of political aspirants like him.
The Sikh community has also been the recipient of Marwah’s munificence the most evident being in 1969 when he gifted the building which was to become the beautiful gurdwara at the intersection which now bears his name.
Dreams of students have been met through scholarships and sponsorships: Fulbright, University of Illinois, Howard University, the needy. At the event, Marwah himself recalled how his late wife Kuljeet would cook every Sunday for any and every Indian student in LA. Significantly, he said, there were some of them who were now grandparents themselves, resent in the audience. It was his wife, he said, who was, “the backbone of all my work.”
For Punjab, the state he hails from, Marwah never simply wrote checks instead visiting every year to see that the villages he focused on received clean water, a sewage system and roads so buses could ply through. His grandson Dr.Hardeep Singh said, in his talk, that while the family strove to be like his grandfather, it was rather like trying to emulate the great Roger Federer at tennis – quite impossible. So, he said, they chose instead to be inspired by him to be better than who they are.
Marwah’s was a legacy to be carried forward, Consul General Panda said. Stating that India was proud of his work, the CG recalled how when he had gone to Harmindar Sahib before arriving to take up his post in San Francisco, a little over two months ago, he was urged by people there to make sure he met the Sikh leader in LA.
Others who spoke at the event included UCLA Professor Emeritus Stanley Wolpert who emotionally recalled his friendship with the Marwah couple and representatives from the Lions Club who awarded titles from the organization. Earlier the event began with a Sikh prayer – Ardaas – invoking the Divine and asking for blessings for Dr. Marwah whose birthday it also was on Feb.4.
On Feb.4, a large crowd headlined by the Consul General from San Francisco, Sanjay Panda, met at the intersection fronted by the Hollywood Sikh Temple. With SoCal getting pounded by rain, everyone was ushered inside the gurdwara, where the ceremonies took place.
Right off the bat, Prof. Sharon Sekhon of Cal State Fullerton who was a key player - with her interest in Southern California’s social history - in getting the signage up, made the salient point: Marwah gives and, gives without expectation of self-advancement. Arriving in the US on a Fulbright in 1950, he found his way to the Golden State in 1962 soon becoming a dentist to stars in Hollywood and friends with those in Bollywood; his business decisions also went well with him plunking some serious change in real estate.
Money and savvy combined, he was the one politicians turned to – Indian and American, they conferred with him and were hosted by him. He became the Chair of the Bombay-Los Angeles Sister City Committee and was appointed a City Commissioner for Art and Cultural Heritage by the late Mayor Tom Bradley. Immediately, Marwah showed how different he was: not only is he credited with getting 200 institutions including the iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame historic status but he also gave back every penny of the salary he received for the job.
He also hosted fundraisers for politicians without becoming one. Marwah has told the media that at a time of open bigotry he worked behind the scenes in Dalip Singh Saund’s successful campaign for Congress, never appearing beside the candidate in his trademark white turban and beard till after the elections.
David Ryu, the LA City Councilmember, responsible for the naming of the square, recalled the Saund campaign in his speech at the event, saying, “I stand on the shoulders of Dr.Marwah.” As only the second Asian-American in the city council, Ryu said that the barrier breaking work that had gone on earlier had led to the path being cleared for a new generation of political aspirants like him.
The Sikh community has also been the recipient of Marwah’s munificence the most evident being in 1969 when he gifted the building which was to become the beautiful gurdwara at the intersection which now bears his name.
Dreams of students have been met through scholarships and sponsorships: Fulbright, University of Illinois, Howard University, the needy. At the event, Marwah himself recalled how his late wife Kuljeet would cook every Sunday for any and every Indian student in LA. Significantly, he said, there were some of them who were now grandparents themselves, resent in the audience. It was his wife, he said, who was, “the backbone of all my work.”
For Punjab, the state he hails from, Marwah never simply wrote checks instead visiting every year to see that the villages he focused on received clean water, a sewage system and roads so buses could ply through. His grandson Dr.Hardeep Singh said, in his talk, that while the family strove to be like his grandfather, it was rather like trying to emulate the great Roger Federer at tennis – quite impossible. So, he said, they chose instead to be inspired by him to be better than who they are.
Marwah’s was a legacy to be carried forward, Consul General Panda said. Stating that India was proud of his work, the CG recalled how when he had gone to Harmindar Sahib before arriving to take up his post in San Francisco, a little over two months ago, he was urged by people there to make sure he met the Sikh leader in LA.
Others who spoke at the event included UCLA Professor Emeritus Stanley Wolpert who emotionally recalled his friendship with the Marwah couple and representatives from the Lions Club who awarded titles from the organization. Earlier the event began with a Sikh prayer – Ardaas – invoking the Divine and asking for blessings for Dr. Marwah whose birthday it also was on Feb.4.
RSS Feed
