The Chitresh Das Institute (CDI) presented India Currents with its 2023 Arts Seva Award during the premier of 13 matra and Invoking the River in San Jose on Sunday, October 8.
While presenting the award, Celine Schein Das, Executive Director of the Chitresh Das Dance Institute (CDI), said that as an arts organization, they knew that Indian Currents would always be present to preview and review their shows. In doing so, the publication has provided invaluable service to the arts and to the community for years.
“They have done the same for countless arts organizations and so many other organizations and individuals,” added Schein Das. “It is our honor to recognize their incredible service with the 2023 Arts SEVA award.”
“When Celine called me to say that India Currents is getting this award, I was in shock,” said Vandana Kumar, the publisher and co-founder of India Currents, while accepting the award. “Because over the years, we have won many awards for our journalism, this is the first time we were getting recognition for seva — service — to the community.”
Kumar said India Currents has been on a remarkable journey since 1987, telling stories about the culture and heritage of India as it thrives in the Bay Area. According to Kumar, India Currents is incredibly blessed to learn from cultural icons and she’s proud of the work CDI has been doing to carry on the legacy of Pt. Chitresh Das.
Kumar also addressed the problems local journalism faces and the power of collaborations in alleviating challenges.
“Community journalism is hard,” she said. “We’re here to serve the community. We strive to do the best we can. So many organizations didn’t make it through the pandemic. But our team has shown a lot of resilience and they persevered.”
She emphasized that for local journalism to thrive, everyone will have to support it and each person has a role to play.
Acknowledging the India Currents team she said, “It’s because of you that we have an impact on the community,” and accepted the award on their behalf.