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HOUSTON: Those who have had a chance to see the Republic Day parade in person on Rajpath in New Delhi really appreciate the diversity and culture that is India as floats upon floats glide by in spectacular color. Interspersed in between is a show of military might and a fly-by overhead from the Indian Air Force jets.
A little bit of that color came to Houston as the Indian Consulate celebrated Republic Day with a program that featured students from India studying at the University of Houston and Rice University.
Once again since the Consulate opened over a decade ago that it has organized a function of this size for Republic Day. It was held in the Hilton Hotel on Post Oak, (virtually across the street from the Consulate’s office) in the main ballroom.
Nearly 500 people were invited to the event on a Tuesday evening at 7 pm, and, inspite of being a workday the following day, stayed on until after dinner at 10 pm.
After the introductions, the Indian national anthem was sung onstage by a group of the evening’s performers, along with the Consul General, Sanjiv Arora, followed by the US national anthem.
Accompanied by Houston City Council members (from left) At-Large Positon 5, Jolanda Jones (in a turqoiuse sari), District F, Al Hoang and District G, Oliver Pennington, Consul General Sanjiv Arora receives a proclamation on India’s Republic Day from the City of Houston.
Arora followed with remarks that included many ereferences to the speech that Arora followed with remarks that included many references to the speech that was delivered thousands of miles away in the early morning hours in New Delhi by Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil. He also peppered his remarks, which ran on for nearly 30 minutes, with references to the felicitations offered to India by US President Barack Obama earlier in the day.
“India offers a voice of hope to the world,” said Arora. He added that India had risen up after the terrorist attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai in 2008 and the current economic turndown and continued to expand as a rapidly growing economy that the world has taken note of.
Arora then recognized a long list of local elected officials, among them the many who are from South Asia, for coming to the reception. Many of the invited were from among the mainstream community and the Houston Consular Corps as well as many prominent Indo-Americans.
The progress and spirituality of India was a sentiment echoed by Harris County Commissioner’s Court Judge Ed Emmett as he came onstage to present Arora with a proclamation on the occasion. “India is source of pride for the entire world,” said Emmett.
“The relations between the US and India are truly phenomenal,” he added, “and the Indo-American community is a great asset to the Houston area.”
Arora also received a City of Houston proclamation presented by City Council members Jolanda Jones, Al Hoang and Oliver Penington standing in for Mayor Annise Parker who could not attend. Jones came to the event in a turquoise sari, much like she did last weekend in a salwar-kameez at the Mahatma Gandhi District dedication.
With that, the stage belonged to song and dance performances by students from Rice University and the University of Houston as they went through many intricate routines. “The students throughout the 8-state region that the Consulate serves are very near to my heart,” Arora beamed as he saw them perform. “The Government of India is keen to support them in many ways.”
But although the students performed superbly - they had evidently rehearsed for many hours - many guests took the handing over of the proclamations as a cue to start off a social hour between themselves, especially as they hand been standing for over 90 minutes and listened patiently while the event unfolded.
And while a few along the front few rows watched the show, many grew weary of the lack of seating in the huge hall to loiter around to the bar which served soft drinks and waited impatiently for dinner to be served. They sought out familiar faces and friends to network and socialize.
Dinner was served a little later, from four serving lines under serving tables that were draped in the tricolors of the Indian flag. Dinner was catered by Narin’s Bombay Brasserie in the Galleria area and consisted of several vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, followed by a delicious gajar-ka-halwa (carrot pudding). |
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