A Remarkable Holiday Event By ASIE

By Vanshika Vipin Varma

HOUSTON: The American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIE) held its Annual Holiday Event on Saturday, November 11, at India House. Founded in Houston in 1994, the non-profit organization aims at assisting young engineers and architects of Indian origin. ASIE aims at facilitating networking, help develop better communication and management skills and provide opportunities for networking and career enhancement through continuing educational seminars, workshops and field trips. And this year has been quite successful, thanks to the leadership of the President Dinesh D. Shah joined by the young Board of Directors. The spectacular annual holiday event was a way to rejoice and appreciate the talents and the forces involved, and recognize engineers and architects.

India House was decorated aptly to suit the holiday festive theme. The event started with a networking and social hour. ASIE Board Director, Chaitanya Gampa, who also acted as Emcee and Event Chair, warmly welcomed the 250 plus audience, who seemed eager and anxious for the event to begin.  In his welcome note, ASIE President Dinesh Shah mentioned, “Look at any item and any structure around you that are an integral part of our existence. They are all invented and designed by Engineers and Architects”. He further stated, “Doctors, Scientists, Attorneys or any other professionals could not function without Engineers and Architects. At ASIE, we understand and appreciate the significant value of Engineers and Architects and that is why this year again, it is time for ASIE to recognize a few eminent Engineers and Architects”. Shah also highlighted a very important fact in his speech. He mentioned that there are many students who cannot afford paying tuition fees and bear their expenses to earn a degree in engineering or architecture, and that ASIE believes in helping such students.  He shared his personal story, that how he could not fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor due to lack of funds, but he confessed that he does not regret due to his successful business career today. He also did mention about the successful events ASIE conducted this year, like monthly seminars, volunteering or supporting U of H Gala, MathCounts completion, Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) and also participating with Indo-American Community.  He appreciated the support of the Board of Directors and thanked each one of them.

The ambitious ASIE members then sparked some creative fun ‘n’ frolic, as it was then time for non-stop entertainment. This segment kicked off with a funny skit about finding the right groom for an engineer boy. The act by talented ASIE members Rajesh Tanwani, Bhavana, Chaitanya, Archana, Poolkeshi and Poonam was so convincing that it left the audiences in splits. This satire was followed by the awards ceremony for Class of 2017. ASIE Board Member Madhu Kilambi shared the interesting history of  ‘ASIE Class of the Year Award’ and mentioned, “ASIE is recognizing Senior Indo-American professionals in Greater Houston Area, who contributed significantly to the Engineering and Architecture field. Tonight, we are honoring three individuals with their induction into ASIE Class of 2017. They all share one common thing and that is their dedication to their disciplines. Their enthusiasm and commitment has resulted in decades of creativity and thousands of projects worldwide. They are true role models and inspiration for students and young professionals accelerating in their engineering or architectural careers.” Madhu then introduced the three honorees- Architect Rashmi Desai and Engineers Ramesh Maini and Harish Jajoo. Each one of these accomplished and brilliant individuals were then presented with an award of  ‘ASIE Class 2017’. Retired professional engineer, Ben Bansal, who started this program in 2013, handed the awards to the recipients.

Those who reckoned the entertainment segment was done with had a rocking surprise in store, and what followed next left them foot-tapping and grooving. It was the sensational Lungi Dance, performed by four young and enthusiastic engineers, Raj, Naresh, Aravind, and Vamshi. This act, and many others that mesmerized the audiences this evening, entirely changed the perception that engineers and architects are ‘serious kind of people’. The award ceremony that followed next was to honor ‘ASIE 2018 Young Engineer/Architect of the Year’. The ASIE Vice President Chetan Vyas, the selection committee Chair was out of town hence the President, Dinesh Shah, announced the name of winner. Hasmukh Doshi, the First ASIE President, handed over this prestigious award to Sirish Madichetti. Madichetti, a professional licensed engineer works for Baker International. As a Board member and IT/Website committee chair this year, he has been consistently involved with various ASIE activities for last couple of years. Sirish will represent ASIE during Eweek celebrations during February 2018. The evening was full of surprises and acts that fascinated and captivated the crowd. The current and past Presidents of ASIE performed the Mime Dance sequences, which was truly compelling and humorous. Each one of the board members, Dinesh Shah, Rajesh Tanwani, Lagnesh Varshney, Shekar Amadapudi and Raj Chugh did their best in a chuckle some and hilarious way. Lagnesh had also earlier sung a solo Pal pal dil ke paas.

The beguiling acts were followed by a brief history of this remarkable program, shared in the form of a grasping story, narrated by the past President Naresh Kolli. He shared a glimpse of his exciting journey as a Chair of the ASIE Student Scholarship Program. The spellbinding journey of this program through the last twenty years enlightened the audiences with the facts and figures. Kolli mentioned that this year ASIE has chosen a total of six scholarships, totaling to $8,000 including four of $1500 each, and two of $1,000 each. The student list included Tanmay Thakker (an Architect student), Bhavik Desai (from Civil Engineering), Pritam Deshraj (Masters in Engineering Management), Parth Joshi (MS in Electrical Engineering), Neeti Gangidi (MS in Subsea Engineering), Tejashree Phatak (PhD at U of H under Dr. Vipu).

The award ceremony set-up was then transformed into an engaging live-auction framework where Dr. Nik Nikam, joined by the Emcee, conducted the live auction for the Mont Blanc pen that was donated by Karat 22. The raffle draw with cool goodies as give-aways, thoroughly entertained the audience, while it helped raise a good amount of money for student scholarships. Scrumptious food really makes spectacular events like these swing and ‘Hyderabad House’ truly did a marvelous job of serving delectable meals. The scrummy food was complimented with a soothing chord instrument played by Avinash Patel. He played the instrumental music to “name the tune”, and winners were rewarded with gift certificates donated generously by local retail businesses. After the hearty meal, Ravi Arora briefly communicated about the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH), and the certificate of Recognition was presented to the winner, Zeel Engineer. The event ended with Board Member Archana Sharma giving the vote of thanks.

The exhilarating evening had everyone in smiles. The radiant venue graced by talented stars of the future, the extravaganza complimented with savoury cuisine and the tireless efforts by ASIE program team, helped the event to triumph.

For details on ASIE please visit www.asiehouston.org