Van Nuys, CA – On August 17th, thousands of people flocked to the beautiful ground of Birmingham Charter High School here in the San Fernando Valley to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day, organized by India Association of Los Angeles (IALA). This is 20th years of celebration by IALA. This Heritage and Cultural Celebration is a showcase of the mini India, where its rich heritage and culture from different regions of India were presented by local talents on one platform.
The event graced by Congressman Sherman, Consulate General of India Ambassador Sanjay Panda, State Senator Henry Stern, representative of
One of the IALA’s founders Inder Singh highlighted the contribution of Indian diaspora in America. Chairman Vineet Puri termed IALA as an idea and idea never dies. IALA president, Sunil Agrawal welcomed the audience in his address and said: “India is unique and oldest living civilization in the world, and we are celebrating Independence Day of such civilization.” He highlighted the importance of the event and said, “this community event allows the business community to broaden their network and provide a platform to young talent to perform on the stage.” The Guest of honor Congressman Sherman presented US flag to IALA president Sunil Agrawal. Congressman talked about Indian Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Texas where 50,000 people will attend the event. Consul General of India Ambassador Sanjay Panda praised the community and highlighted their contribution in strengthening Indo- US ties.
This year, IALA started giving awards to Southern Californian artists, heroes, and achievers. Due to Rajiv Satyal’s extra ordinary contribution to performing arts, award committee chose him for “Pride of the community” award. He received this award from Consul General of India,Ambassador Sanjay Panda.
Consul General also presented plaques to sponsors, Grand sponsor Turkish Airlines, Debra Jawa, Ranjit Joea, Nidhi Tomar, Iqbal Samra, , HAB Bank, DJ Scorpio, LA City Department of Cultural Affairs, Falguni Zala, Yogi Patel, Nina Bawa, Dr Kalpesh Patel, and Media partner TV Asia.
The event featured a grand cultural show presented by VP cultural affairs Aishveryaa Nidhi and her team. Indian songs, dance, and other forms of Indian arts by little ones, grownups and talented artists mesmerized the audience. Kathak dances, Bharatnatyam, Folk dances, Bhangra, and many Bollywood numbers by various groups stole the heart of the audience by powerful performances.
Kathak Kala Academy group performed on Sufi song, and Tarana. Monica Sarin choreographed a group dance performed by small children wearing traditional costumes of various states of India. It presented the diversity of Indian perfectly. Master Sharron’s EB Bollywood/Hip Hop Dance School brought Bollywood flavor to the event and presented the grand finale of the program.
There were 60 booths with lots of variety including fashion, food, Non-profits etc., put up by Parmesh Shah, Manmohan Chopra, attracted thousands of visitors where they shopped, eat and enjoyed the colorful fair.
Event’s major attraction free health fair put up by VP health Deepi Singh and Dr. Bama Sridhar, visited by thousands of valley resident to check up their health parameters and take guidance on their diet and nutrition. Health fair greatly assisted by Shukla Sen, Malini Chetty, and young volunteers Yashvi Agrawal, Darshan Zala.
This year IALA’s magazine ran cover story dedicated to Indian Election 2019, “India: Largest Democracy Successfully Conducted the biggest election.” It highlighted mesmerizing statistics about election.
The event was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed by thousands of audience with awe and appreciation and will be remembered by many.
The IALA 2019 Executive Committee is comprised of 20 members: Sunil Agrawal, Ouseph Poulose, Pramesh Shah, Prem Seem, Rajni Thakkar, Kanaksinh Zala, Aishveryaa Nidhi, Navdeep Singh, Nalini Natarajan, Sunil “Bobby” Prabhakar, Dr Bama Sridhar, Deepi Singh, Hema Chopra, Ram Bali, Falguniba Zala, Jugal Kishore, Dr Aakash Ahuja, Ashish Khamkar, Manjeet Wahi, and Yogi Patel.
