NEW YORK: Federation of Indian Association of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut held its 26th Curtain Raiser at the Indian Consulate unveiling the 2019 theme of ‘ Support our troops – Salute our troops’.
The event was opened with national anthems of India and the US followed by a themed performance done on a Bollywood medley, according to a press release. The spectacular performers were from Nritya Dance Academy and the performance was choreographed by Meena Basu Naag.
The emcee of the evening was up and coming model and actress Nisha Kalamdani. Addressing the gathering, Alok Kumar, president of FIA, elaborated on the theme and placed emphasis on the need to appeal to the community to do more in saluting and supporting the men and women in uniform.
Kumar applauded the contribution of his team and pointed out the hard work that goes in on a day in day out basis by the voluntary team to bring the parade festivities to fruition. Kumar complimented and expressed gratitude on behalf of the FIA fraternity to the Consul General of India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty, Deputy Consul General Shatrughan Sinha and the Consulate team for their warm welcome and reception extended to FIA for nearly three decades.
Guest of Honor and keynote speaker Chakravorty cited the need for including youth and the second generation in the festivities and extended his help and support with elevating youth participation in the parade by including more schools. He pointed to the need to introspect on how the changing and growing community needs should reflect into a large event such as the India Day parade which should become adaptive and inclusive of the changing times in its event format.
FIA chairman Ramesh Patel reflected in brief on how the parade as an event has evolved and how support from the community needs to grow to further the outreach and grandeur of the parade festivities.
The curtain raiser was attended by distinguished dignitaries including FIA Trustee and Padma Shri recipient Dr Sudhir Parikh, FIA Trustee and Padma Shri recipient Dr H R Shah, Albert Jasani, Anand Patel of Dunkin Donuts, Anil Bansal, Andy Bhatia, Srujal Parikh, Shobhna and Dr Dinesh Patel among others.
Concluding, Alok Kumar acknowledged the contributions of the women’s team of FIA along with the 2019 Executive Committee comprising executive vice president Himanshu Bhatia, who also delivered the vote of thanks, immediate past president Srujal Parikh, vice president Saurin Parikh, general secretary Amit Yadav, joint secretary Mardavi Patel and treasurer Amit Ringasia.
The curtain raiser also showcased live music as well as authentic appetizers and a full dinner sponsored by the Royal Alberts Palace.
