CHICAGO: The India Day celebrations in Chicaogland, spread over three day beginning August 14 evening, however had a real kick off on morning of Saturday August 15 when at the initiative of Indian Consulate a conglomeration of Indiana organizations joined hands with the CG office and had a flag hoisting done at the Daley Plaza in Chicago downtown.
Scores of Indian Americans were present when Indian Consul General Dr Ausuf Sayeed unfurled the Indian flag amidst applause followed with the singing of national Anthem – Jana Gana Mana. Dr Sayeed read out Indian President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee’s message which was followed by a small entertainment program by Ruth Verghese and Vidha Nahar (patriotic dance performance) and sweets distribution.
The CG Office also hosted a Banquet in the evening which was attended by 100 plus Chicago elite, including non-Indians. CG in his welcome address mentioned about the sacrifice made by freedom fighters in achieving freedom and highlighted India’s ‘Unity and Diversity’. “India’s Diversity does not create any division in the country. On the contrary, it defines the composite – multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic fabric of India. We may follow any religion in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism or Zoroastrianism – but when our heart beats it says India, India and nothing but India,” CG Ausaf said.
He underlined the progress that India has made since Independence as also after the new Modi government came in. PM Modi believes in the inclusive growth of the entire 1.2 billion population of India. He touched upon the series of economic reforms and several flagship schemes such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Smart Cities’, ‘Clean India’, ‘Ganga Rejuvenation’ and an extraordinary emphasis on improving the country’s infrastructure and switching over to Green.”
He praised non resident Indians in their role to cement Indo-US ties as well as the economic upsurge in this country. He pointed that a good number of American corporations have many Indian origin CEOs heading them. He also said that Indian physicians play an active role in the health care sector of this country and so also professionals, mainly in the tech field.
He said that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton had declared August 15 as India Day and his aide read out messages from the Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner , Chicago Mayor Rham Emanuel , Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. The event was followed with an eye catching classical Bharat Natyam dance performances and sumptuous dinner.
The morning event was followed by Indian Americans flocking to Devon Ave for the India Day Parade and Mela hosted by the Federation of Indian Association (FIA).
The Parade with 23 floats against the usual 35 to 40 (Kanti Patel, one of the organizers said that “we could not entertain more inquires as we could not get more floats”) and somewhat thinner crowd (about 3000 against over 5000) made many describe it as below par affair. However, the live band preceding the Parade followed by Jesse White tumblers and the ensuing Mela proved to be a big saving grace.
The Alliance of Midwest Indian Association for the convenience of Indian Americans in southwest suburb kept up its two decades old tradition and hosted a flag unfurling ceremony at 9 am in Naperville Town Hall in the presence of 400 Indians Americans and City Council members.
There was an equally interesting event taking place in Schaumburg the next day August 16. It was organized by the other FIA and the main attraction was an evening full of music and entertainment. Bappi Lahiri, the famed musician from Bollywood, was the star performer while Sarfaraz Khan, the son of Kader Khan, a yesteryear Bollywood artist, lent more color to the near three hours program in the evening. A large number of dignitaries along with a huge number of Indian Americans flocked to Boomer Stadium in Schaumburg where the event was taking place. FIA recognized a host of Indian Americans for their contribution in their respective field of activities.
The Indian Outreach Community in Naperville had held an equally impressive four hours long program starting with flag hoisting ,a Parade with decorative floats showcasing Indian culture and live music-dance performances. It was blessed by the local City Council and that was first time and a big plus for the burgeoning Indian community in the area.
Ramesh Soparawala & Surendra Ullal
India Post News Service
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