This I-Day Brought Out Kids of All Ages, Onstage and in the Aisles
The India Culture Center Board takes a bow midway through the Indian Independence Day program last Sunday, August 19 at the Stafford Civic Centre Photos: Raghu Thakkar
By Jawahar Malhotra
STAFFORD: Sure you can convince a little kid to get dressed up and go onstage to prance around and sing the national anthem while the proud parents sit in the front row lip synching the words to them. But try doing that with the little tykes dressed up in white pajama-kurtas and salwar-kameezes and a saffron turban balanced on his head as they wave the Indian tri-color and sing the Indian national anthem – “Janna Ganna Manna” – and you certainly can imagine the hours of rehearsals and patient coaching that it took to the them there!
The mayors of Houston, Missouri City, Sugar Land and Stafford with the ICC organizers and the major sponsors of the Independence Day event, Jugal Malani and Swatantra Jain (on right) watch the stage show.
But there they were, in front of a large audience with many of their parents sitting cross-legged in the front excitedly taking their pictures. The occasion was the cultural program and bazaar held this past Sunday, August 19 at the Stafford Civic Centre on Cash Road as the India Culture Center celebrated the 72nd anniversary of India’s Independence. In an often-repeated festival held at the same venue for more than a decade, ICC organizers were thrilled by the estimated over 2,300 people who came to the event.
The Essay contest winners Arunima Para, Shriman Thandra, Vani Jain, Juhi Choudhury and runners up receive their awards.
This year’s event had large turnout of youngsters who were encouraged by their parents and the organizers who held many contests for them to participate in. Many were given a topic to choose from when they entered the venue and then spoke extemporaneously in the Extempore Contest (coordinated by Parul Fernandes and Sangeeta Pasrija). Others wrote essays (coordinated by Santosh Verma) which had been submitted and judged by a panel.
The highlight of the event came towards the evening when Jasmeeta Singh of Jaz Creations emceed the fashion show that she produced and choreographed featuring works by several local designers and make-up artists. The judges were International Bollywood winners Mayuri Rana and Ziva Malin.
The Extempore speech contest winners Shriman Thandra, Rayaan Lakhva and Diksha Chandra receive their awards.
Among the local leaders who attended and spoke were Mayors Sylvester Turner, Allen Owen, Leonard Scarcella and Joe Zimmerman as well as Sugar Land Councilman Himesh Gandhi and Stafford Councilman Ken Mathew. There were over 20 cultural dance performances including two thrilling Filipino items.
Among the more than 50 booths was one from the Guruvarappan Temple collecting funds for the Kerala flood emergency rehabilitation. There were also three food booths serving mouth-watering Indian dishes in the food court. Adjacent to that was the children’s crafts area where they could build or draw many other ideas.
After picking up a copy of ICC’s “Tarang” souvenir magazine, people could get a chance to play at the spot brain stimulator quiz conceived by Sanjay Sohoni. Dr. K. D.
Upadhyaya, dressed in a saffron jacket and a Gandhi cap, and Swapan Dhairyawan gave a heartful tribute to India’s 10th Prime Minister Atal Bihar who had just passed away.
Models in the fashion show take a bow with the organizer and choreographer Jasmeeta Singh (at the mic).
Event chair Pramod Bengani gave a poignant speech about “Life” and “Freedom” and how these have formed the backbone on which India has progressed from a nascent nation to the largest thriving democracy in the world. ICC President Nisha Mirani told the audience that the “achievements of the any organization multiply when they confer and work together,” referring to the other groups that had partnered with the ICC to bring this event together. And finally, event co-chair Ajit Patel thanked the audience, booth vendors, sponsors, and dignitaries for making the event grand.
The ICC Fashion Show winners:
Reshma Mathews for Miss Talented; Priyanka Shrivaastav for Miss Facebook Popular and Amardeep Kaur Miss Super Personality.
Extempore Contest winners and their topics:
Shriman Thandra (12) spoke on pollution in India; Rayaan Lakhva (10) on Indian flag and Diksha Chandra (7) on the Indian flag.
Essay Contest winners and their age bracket categories:
Arunima Para (age 7-10); Shriman Thandra (age 11-14); Vani Jain (age 15-18) and Juhi Choudhury (age 19-22).