Suresh Bodiwala
CHICAGO: Sindhi Association of Metropolitan Chicago, one of the oldest organizations in Chicagoland, celebrated its Annual Diwali celebration on October 30, 2021at Ashton Place, Willow brook, a Chicago suburb
The celebration started with Lamp Lighting and the Mahalaxmi Aarti followed by a cultural program by kids of all ages. The event also featured a media briefing by the current President Subhash Balani and other board members. Balani explained how the association was formed over 6 decades ago with the aim of creating a platform for the upcoming generations. He talked about the annual activities that the association organizes to celebrate Sindhi Culture.
Another board member NandBalani elaborated on the initiative called, Alliance of Global Sindhi Association that connects Sindhis all over to the world. The three aims of the alliance focus on matrimonial services, Romanized script for Sindhi language, and a global Sindhi directory.
Geeta Rupani, past president and current executive board member who has been involved with the association for over four decades mentioned how the organization has been working hard to promote Sindhi culture, music, language and history.
Sunder Tekchandani stressed on the importance of involving more and more members, especially the younger generation to take these initiatives forward and to continue spreading awareness about the organization.
Vinita Gulabani, the current executive board member and Vikas Kalwani, past president explained how the outreach is done via emails and social media to involve the young generation. They talked about activities that are organized especially for youth participation like bowling, summer picnics, and antakshari.
The event was attended by hundreds of members from Sindhi community that also included President, Village of Oakbrook Dr. Gopal Lalmalani who joined the Diwali celebration along with his family.