Oklhahoma community honors Dr Meshri & family

Honoring Dr Meshri and Sanjay Meshri
Honoring Dr Meshri and Sanjay Meshri

TULSA, OK: India born scientist Dr Dayal Meshri, with many awards and honors under his belt, added one more last week when the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice recognized him during a glittering event at Double Tree hotel for his singular contribution not only to Tulsa and Oklahoma but to the community at large globally.

Attended by over 700 guests and invitees, this annual event is held to raise funds for numerous community oriented activities and programs in general and easily the large attendance ensured that the Center would have additional funding of over $250 K for the programs.

Lavishing singular praises for their excellent work and contributions for the betterment of the community, OCCJ President Moises Echeverria observed that Meshris “are a wonderful family “working closely with a number of academic and charitable organizations.

In his response, Dr Meshri who migrated to this country in late sixties but finally got settling in Tulsa Oklahoma, said that he adores the people of Tulsa and Oklahoma “These are the great people who bestow upon you the respect, love and strong values for every culture, race and color.”

Born in British India, Dr Meshri said that he came to the USA for advanced studies on scholarship and had little interest in staying here but “when invited to Tulsa, its magnetic field and magic of the people grounded me here forever. My late wife Indu got her Doctorate at TU instead of finishing at Cornell due to my fascination for Tulsa and its magnetism,” he said amidst huge applause.

Talking about OCCI, Dr Meshri said that it is a great organization dedicated to equality, fairness, caring and sharing without any restrictions of color, race or national origin. Dr Meshri attended the dinner along with his son Sanjay, Dr Geeta, their kids and family members. Turning a bit emotional while remembering his late wife Indu, Dr Meshri said that she was a beautiful person who had chaired Diversity Committee at AMOCO and shared her culture with a number of organizations and children.

“She would be watching and smiling from her heavenly abode”, he said while offering thanks and gratitude to OCCI management and the people of Tulsa.

OCCJ, founded as a volunteer movement in Tulsa in 1934, is a human relations organization solely dedicated to achieving respect and understanding for all people through education, advocacy and dialogue. Its vision is to eliminate bias, bigotry and racism in our state, in our generation.

With the support of key business, community, education and religious leaders, OCCJ became an organization independent of the national organization in 2005. It is the leading organization in advocating the rights and ethical treatment of all people. OCCJ’s work contributes greatly to healthy, educated and empowered communities. Underlying all the economic and social challenges that communities face are the very basic and often difficult, human relations issues.

Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service