A Cozy, Personal R-Day at CG’s, No Matter the Evening Chill

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: On the backyard brick porch of the Consul General’s house on Thursday January 26, a group of adults and children from Pt. Suman Ghosh’s Saadhana Pariwar sang the Indian and US national anthems as the audience sat on chairs laid out on the paved backyard besides the swimming pool. The slight chill of a late January, was in the air but those gathered had shrugged it off as they settled in for the 90-minute program that started just shy of 6pm. More people straggled in after fighting off the late evening rush of traffic, and midway through the crowd had grown to over 200, by Indian Consul General Anupam Ray’s estimate, far exceeding the expected numbers.

Ray chose to celebrate the Indian Republic Day at his house – and in the evening, a departure from the early morning flag hoisting of years past – like it used to be done before the more elaborate functions held at the Hilton on Post Oak for the past six years during the tenures of his predecessors Harish and Arora. It was a throwback to a more intimate, cozy and casual affair that seems to fit the personality and style of Ray and his wife Amit Goldberg. They have hosted several functions this way since Ray took over his post last April and their informality has endeared them to everyone they have come across. This – and the Facebook posts that Ray frequently makes – marks a decided refreshing turn form the stiff upper lip of many government bureaucrats.

True to form, dressed in a long black achkan and white pajama, Ray opened up the program without much fuzz and in a departure from the usual reading of the Indian President’s traditional speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi. Ray said that he wanted to make the evening a “brand Houston building exercise for India to promote the education of Indians abroad and their ability to create wealth and innovate wherever they might be.” He introduced two such individuals and two Americans who have close ties to the Indian community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harris County Commissioners Court Judge Ed Emmett was first to speak about his numerous experiences with India during his frequent trips there. “India and I are the same age,” he said with a grin. He noted that as businesses relocate to the area, many set up offices in the unincorporated areas of Harris County. He announced that he would be setting up an Economic Development Advising Committee and surprised everyone by asking Jagdip Ahluwalia (the Executive Director of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston) to head it up. “We have forgotten the person-to-person aspect of economic development,” Emmett said.

Bhavesh Patel, Chairman and CEO of LyondellBasell Industries spoke about his humble beginnings in Mumbai from where he came as a 10-year-old boy to Cleveland, Ohio and then to Houston in 1989. “I am a beneficiary of international trade,” he said. “We should not forget that the world is inter-connected.” He noted that trade between Houston and India had doubled in the last 10 years.

Dr. John Mendelsohn, a former president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, spoke affectionately of his several trips to India and the places he visited. “We will know what we aspire to be as a country when we produce doctors like India,” he said, applauding their skills, and remembering Dr. Durga Das Agarwal, a local industrialist and Malcom Gillis, the sixth president of Rice University, for introducing him to India. He recalled an episode when he was asked to join in as the ninth member to help celebrate the Jewish Sabbath at a synagogue in Cochin, Kerela.

Ashok Belani, Executive VP at Schlumberger, and a former IIT graduate on 1947, said he was proud of the way India was progressing and of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said his conversations with common people in India, encouraged him that they were willing to put up with hardships like the recent demonetization for the long term progress and benefit of the country.

As Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was unable to attend, Vice Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Davis read the City Proclamation and handed it to Ray. The program concluded with dances by Isha Parupudi and Samyuktha Hari from Rathna Kumar’s Anjali School of Performing Arts and concluding sangeets (classical songs) by Pt. Suman Ghosh. The sumptuous dinner was once again “made at home by our marvelous cooks,” said Amit Ray, again a departure from past years, when it has been catered.