BY K.B.NAIR

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - The young organizers at the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP)  and American India Foundation(AIF) had set their hearts on collecting  a sizable amount to donate to CARE in its  efforts to alleviate the suffering of  the thousands affected by the Haiti earthquake. They aimed to do this  by arranging a joint holi party at  the Will Rogers State Beach on the afternoon of March 6.

It did not actually rain on their Holi parade because it passed earlier and had completely stopped by the scheduled start of the bash. But the forecast of a storm obviously kept many away  and the organizers were left disappointed they could not do as much as they had hoped.  However a determined group of around 75 turned up and raised the Holi spirit smearing  colors generously on each other to the background of  Bollywood music provided by DJ Anokha and enjoying  the food catered by Ashoka restaurant.

Undeterred by the turn of events, NetIP President Sapan Shah told India Journal he hoped to raise what they had planned on with more programs in the future. AIF Director of Communications A.Oommen added that the two organizations had joined hands in the charity outreach for the Haiti earthquake victims because AIF was itself a creation in the aftermath of the Gujarat earthquake and felt that it was important for the Indian-American community to take a stand when another nation is similarly devastated.

 It was not an easy event to organize as explained  by  Hardik Shah, NetIP Cultural Chair , whose job it was to put the show together. It took him more than a month to negotiate with the Beach and Harbor Department to reduce their permit fees from $650 to $50 and the parking charges from $9.00 to $1.00 . He expressed his deepest gratitude to the Supervisor’s Office for having agreed to waive most of the charges for the good cause.