ISCA Celebrates Mother’s Day with Entertainment and Presents for All
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: What makes the proceedings of the India Senior Citizens Association so much fun to watch is the way that its President Lalit Chinoy runs them. An affable man with a moustache, argyle sleeveless sweater and a swaying gait, Lalitbhai does not hold to ceremony and conducts meetings, stage shows and introductions (along with all the interruptions) alike with homegrown ease and domestic familiarity. He is equally unassuming in all cases and his style never changes: those who know him well know of his penchant for making jest and telling jokes, which probably gives him his shimmering sense of humor.
Lalitbhai was his usual self when the ISCA held its Mother’s Day program this past Saturday afternoon, May 11 at the India House on West Bellfort. The event was attended by a house full of seniors, many with their children in tow, as they sat through a two hour long program of bhajans, prayer and entertainment, followed by a buffet lunch donated by Bhojan restaurant.
Clockwise from top left: The ICC Board with ISCA President Lalit Chinoy (second from right); the Banke Bihari family singing bhajans onstage; “Maasi” Vilas Praful sings Gujarati folk songs; ICC Trustee Meera Kapur; six year-old Eesha Dhairyawan sings a Hindi poem; Surender Talwar sings a bhajan.
The program began with Indian Consul Anil Matta speaking of “the inspiration and guidance that seniors gave society and the country.” Sagar Sanghvani, a challenged strapping young man, strode to the stage with his mother and donated $101 that he had earned on his own. A dear older lady who everyone knows as “Maasi” but whose real name is Vilas Praful, sat onstage as it was being transformed into a prayer area, and sang two popular Gujarati folk songs. And tiny six year-old Eesha Dhairyawan, daughter of former ICC President Swapan Dhairyawan, recited a beautiful long poem in Hindi, much to the delight of the audience.
The Banke Bihari family, led by Manohar and Meera Gidwani came onstage and entertained the audience with bhajans and ended with an aarti for which all rose. As they went over their allotted time, the entertainment that was supplied by the India Culture Center was abbreviated so as to make room for lunch and not delay it too much.
The ICC President C.V. Patel came onstage to wish everyone a very happy Mother’s Day, and in particular Shakuntla Malhotra, one of the elders of the community. ICC Board members performed on stage: Manisha Gandhi two songs from yesteryear, Faulguni Gandhi another song, Sangeeta Pasrija a comedy routine about a Haryana youth who has a run of bad luck, Fateh Alai Chatur who recited a joke and then Surender Talwar – whose voice is often compared to that of the late Bollywood playback singer Mohammed Rafi – who sang a song and bhajan.
The program ended with a raffle of several prizes and each mother in the hall was given a goodie bag with several presents.