This Grand Christmas banquet was also attended by Consul General Neeta Bhushan, former Governor Pat Quinn and Cook County Commissioner Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia. These dignitaries were joined by Archbishop Jacob Agepog, Rev. Dr. David Vidyasagar and several community and business leaders from different faiths including Iftekhar Shareef, KK Reddy, Krishna Mushyam, FIA President Kanti N. Patel and Mahesh Kakarala to name a few.
The evening celebrations set off with the lighting of the Christmas Advent Candles lit by Jesus Garcia and others joined by host team Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, Emanuel Neela and Vasanth. This was followed by invocation solo dance performance by Ms. Angel Varghese, choreographed group dance by young girls from Kalapadma Dance Academy with interludes of beautiful strains of Christmas carols sung illustrating the spirit of Christmas.
CG Neeta Bhushan offered Christmas greetings and expressed appreciation to the SACCA host team for inviting her to Christmas. The SACCA host committee in turn honored CG Neeta Bhushan donning upon her the shawl and presenting a flower bouquet.
The Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. David Vidyasagar presented the central theme of Christmas message which he said is the sacred birth of Lord Jesus Christ. Defining its deeper essence, he emphasized that the spirit of Christmas manifests hope, love, peace and joy.
SACCA President Emanuel Neela thanked the gathering of the families at the Christmas banquet and expressed gratitude to the inter-faith guests who said the occasion has enhanced the Christmas celebrations.
He thanked the singers and dancing team for outstanding presentation capturing the deeper essence of Christmas. While Vasanth Charles presented the vision and future plans to be embarked on by SACCA, the community Christmas greetings were offered by FIA Trustee Iftekhar Shareef and KK Reddy.
The evening highlight was the presentation of Cricket Tournament trophy by former Governor Pat Quinn to the winning team. It was received by Joseph Prince and his team. The carols were presented by Neethi, Priyanka Karlapudi, Vinay, Ajay Mitta, Jeena, Jacob Agepog, Vijay Munnagal, Monica, Dev Karlapudi, Mrs. Agepog, John Sundar and the music was arranged by Johnson Kodi and Selvin Jayraj.
The evening celebrations concluded with entire hall luminous in shimmering candlelights held by each guest while singing “Silent Night,” a traditional Christmas carol which was followed by the serving of the festive dinner.
Madhu Patel
