IMAGH Spreads Eid Cheer Amid a Festive and Upscale Celebration

Indian Consul  General Parvathaneni Harish handing out the Community Award to Basheer Mohammed as, from left, Mrs. Mohammed, presenter Maqbool Haq, Col. Raj Bhalla (in red turban) and IMAGH Presidient Latafath Hussain enjoy the moment.

Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish handing out the Community Award to Basheer Mohammed as, from left, Mrs. Mohammed, presenter Maqbool Haq, Col. Raj Bhalla (in red turban) and IMAGH Presidient Latafath Hussain enjoy the moment.

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By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: In a marked departure from the venues that it has used in previous years since it was founded, the Indian Muslim Association of Greater Houston made quite a splash this past Sunday, August 10 with a flashy, fun oriented celebration to mark this year’s Eid at the Westchase Marriott Hotel. Over 400 people attended the long program that started with appetizers at 5:30 in the evening and ended close to midnight with a long set of live entertainment.

For IMAGH President Latafath Hussain, this celebration represented the culmination of years of building up an organization that, for all practical purposes, was not visible among the other community groups in the Houston area. Hussain remembered the group’s humble beginnings and the first two Eid Milan functions with the encouragement of former ICC President Col. Raj Bhalla, who was once again a presenter of the community awards given during the event.

“You all know how hard it is to start an organization—- we had no money, no backing, and nobody would believe that we would feed 200+ people for free,” Hussain explained after the event. “So when Bhalla Sahib says ‘heartiest congratulations’, he is saying it from his heart, because he knows how hard we have worked to get here.”

A registration island manned by local young people from IMAGH’s youth wing SAYA delivered badges to all the guests in the lobby of the main ballroom. Off to one side a photo booth allowed guests to have fun posing for pictures using a table full of props like hats, glasses, moustaches and frames. Appetizers were served on the other end before the main event started.

Indian Consul General Harish and his wife Nandita with IMAGH members Maqbool Haq (left) and Shahid Bilal. Photos: SMB Media Productions

Indian Consul General Harish and his wife Nandita with IMAGH members Maqbool Haq (left) and Shahid Bilal. Photos: SMB Media Productions

The emcees for the evening were Lubna Jumshyd, a former radio show host who has recently jumped over to the nationally telecast TV One, and Arif Memon who continues to reach people with his deep, husky voice on the local Hum Tum Radio. The program started with the traditional recital by memory of the Tilawat from the Quran by Irfan Choudhary.

This was followed by a welcome speech, started for several minutes in Shudh (pure) Hindi by Abeezar Tyebji, Chairman of the IMAGH Board of Advisors, in which he explained that he was from Bombay and had been in the US for 30 years. He then switched to English and recalled an anecdote when he and his wife were travelling by train from Poona and were switching back and forth between English-Telegu-Gujarati-Urdu and “a poor confused eavesdropper finally asked ‘where are you from’ and we said ‘America’,” giggled Tyebji, to illustrate the diversity that exists in this country.

Abezer Tayebji, the Chairman of the Board of Advisors made welcome comments at the event

Abezer Tayebji, the Chairman of the Board of Advisors made welcome comments at the event

“There is unity in diversity,” he declared, “and the IMAGH fosters this co-operation between cultures,” as he pointed out different people in the audience. He also announced two initiatives for IMAGH: monthly meetings for fun and friendship and regular outings for members.

The program gave exposure to SAYA, a group founded and established in April this year. Its youthful leadership committee, Joel Kurein, Hafeezah Shaik, Irfana Hussain and Mohammed A. Khan gave to the stage and gave a video presentation of interviews with IMAGH supporters and SAYA’s own goals.

Dr. Aaminah Durrani, a young convert to Islam from Colorado, who has multiple college degrees, spoke about the rising number of Muslims in America – about 5 to 7 million – and gave a historical perspective and how each wave of immigrants added their own twist of culture on how to celebrate Eid and forged a new identity of American Muslims. “With their core values, this represents a mosaic of cultures,” she declared.

The venue at the Westchase Marriott Hotel was tastefully and elegantly decorated for the 400 guests that attended.

The venue at the Westchase Marriott Hotel was tastefully and elegantly decorated for the 400 guests that attended.

Mulik Sayeedi, a retired, 82 year-old structural engineer who ambled on to the stage using his walking cane, added a tone of hilarity with several jokes told in his strong, booming voice in English and Urdu. He got his degree from the University of Minnesota in 1959, retired in 1994 and is a self-described poet and wit.

Also in attendance at the event were a group of ladies from the Red Hat Society, which has members worldwide, all of whom wear red hats – hence the name – when they go out ensemble. They were invited by an IMAGH member, Rahat Kalle, who is also a member of the Red Hat Society. Nancy King and Rose Mixon explained the purpose of the society and the meetings that they hold.

Community service awards were presented by Dr. Raj Bhalla and Dr. Maqbool Haq to Basheer Khumawala and his wife who, in her brief speech of acceptance, denied that hers was a major role and  dedicated it to all to her husband and their son. The charity they have founded, Pennies for Education and Health in 2001 has grown to serve thousands of people in India. She said that they were supported by accounting students from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.

The main guest of the event was Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish who greeted the guests in Arabic, which he speaks well from his previous posting in Cairo. Known for his thoughtful deliveries, he recounted an incidence when the 10th century ruler of Cordoba, Spain, Abdul Rahim took measure of his life and declared that, inspite of his immense wealth, he had had only 14 days of happiness. “In the USA, the pursuit of happiness is an idea,” he declared and then expanded on how simple things like exchanging Eid gifts was a way to for people to exchange happy tidings.

The main feature of the evening was the presentation by the Gold Sponsor of the event, Dr. Salman Mirza Baig, a neurosurgeon who described his experience in setting up a charity, the Firdous Foundation, that works with providing children with some fun in their otherwise unremarkable and dreary lives. He asked his professional colleague, Jeremy Andrews to relate his experience from his recent trip to India, from which he had returned just the day before. Evans was recovering from a fever and when describing his trip, he was moved to tears onstage, showing the powerful emotional tug the trip had on him and his wife.

As the event ended and people broke for namaz and dinner (Hyderabadi style, catered by Mezban restaurant), the stage was set for the songs by Houston’s own singer – who incidentally is from Hyderabad – Uma Mantravadi and the Dubai-based, multi-talented singer Abbas Ali Mirza, who was visiting for the occasion. They sang and entertained till midnight.