CHICAGO: Members of the Indian Community in Niles Township (ICNT) kept up their tradition of celebrating national Indian festivals with a grand celebration of Indian Republic Day at Fairview High school auditorium in Skokie recently in the presence of Chicagoland elite and elected officials of Nile-Skokie villages.
The events started with the traditional lamp lighting by guests led by Skokie Mayor Van Dusen and Acharya Rohit Joshi of Northeastern Illinois University.
Van Dusen, in his keynote address, praised Indian Americans in Skokie village for their active participation in the mainstream society keeping their cultural identity intact. He was happy to be part of the Republic Day celebrations, stressing the importance of democratic traditions that India opted for and was following them to the core.
The dignitaries present on the occasion included the Director of Skokie Library Ms. Carolyn Anthony, State Representative Daniel Biss, Director of Drug Compliance Yesh Amin, Skokie Park District Supt Mike Reid, Indian community leaders like Naren Patel, Sunil Shah, Iftekhar Shareef and Tusar Chotlia.
Usha Kamaria, president of ICNT, welcomed the guests and talked about the significance of Indian Republic Day.
She also briefed the audience about the various activities that her organization has been undertaking regularly over the past over two decades. She pointed out that besides celebrating important festivals, ICNT has been rendering yeomen service to the community with lot of support and cooperation of community members and the officials of the Skokie village.
The other highlight of the near three-hour program was cultural presentations by local artists and local art organizations.
Eye catching dances were presented by students of Kalapdama Dance Academy, Tarana Dance Academy, Payalia Dance studio and Bhangra team from DePaul University.
The singers who captivated the audience with Bollywood and patriotic songs were Raju Bankapur, Santosh Verghese, Sonal Patel and Shaila T Khendker. They mixed it up with old time melodies and the modern songs.
It was not only the residents of Niles and Skokie townships who came to attend the program but many from far away suburbs also flocked to be part of the celebrations.
Suresh Shah
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
