DAVE VASUDEVAN
CHICAGO: Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin attended the Diwali gala that was organized by the Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board (IACOAB) with the Indian and other local communities participating.
The IACOAB committee in charge of the nearly four-hour event consisted of Gautam Bhatia, chair, and the dynamic board members Kunal Majmundar, vice-chair, Sandeep Londhe, secretary, Anupama Setty, treasurer, Roopa Anjanappa, Shweta Baid, Ashok Easwaran, Sharon Garcia, Ajay Jain, Nadia Kanhai, Ranjan Mohanty, Sanjeev Pandey, Sunil Patel, Leela Karumuri and Sukanya Rangarajan.
The event started with an auspicious hymn chanted by Subhadracharyulu Srinivasula, priest from the Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple of Aurora. The emcee of the event was Ajay Kumar. An attorney by profession, Miss Illinois for America 2019 Monica Patankar was invited to the stage to light the lamp along with Mayor of Naperville Steve Chirico.
The dignitaries at the event – Aurora Mayor Irvin, Alderman Ted Mesiacos, Edward Bugg, Aurora Alderman-At-Large Sherman Jenkins, Illinois Lt Gov Juliana Stratton, Congressmen Bill Foster Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ilinois State Rep Barbara Hernandez, IPSD 204 School Board President Mike Reczak, IPSD 204 School Board Member Susan Demming and two circuit court judges – were invited to stage. The Mayor of Aurora read and handed the Proclamation for Diwali to IACOAB chair Bhatia.
The gymnasium of Metea Valley housed this great event, and the vendors had their booths at the entrance. Vendors included restaurants serving Indian delicacies, jewelry sellers, garment sellers, and a travel agency among others.
The evening was filled with non-stop entertainments. Chicagoland’s leading Indian dance schools had their students performing. Meera Dance & Arts, Dance Unlimited (MD), Instrumental Ensemble, Rina Rockers, Ananya Soon, Beautiful Ideas, Bollywood Rhythms, Acharya Performing Arts Academy, Team Ghunguru, Dipti Dance and Tarana Dance Academy were among those who performed.
The catwalk by stunning Indian teens adorned in meticulously designed attires was spellbinding for the women watching the show. Neelam Sabu headed the team of models who had handpicked the costumes. Studio Nafisa held “Festival Of Lights – Diwali 2019” art competition. The theme of the competition was aligned with Aurora as the City of Lights and also with Diwali as the most important festival for the Indian community in western suburbs of Chicago.
This competition was held over two weekends with hundreds of kids in the range of 4 to 16 years participating in this competition held at Studio Nafisa. The participating entries were organized in three age categories, and prizes of $100, $50 & $25 were awarded in each age category. This competition was also supported by the state of Illinois and Illinois Congresswoman Stefanie Kifowit. Each participant was awarded a certificate of participation by the state government of Illinois.
Studio Nafisa and IACOAB also led a food donation drive during the competition to fight hunger in the City of Aurora. The Indian community responded generously by donating food and money which will be donated to local food pantries. Mayor Irvin applauded the effort, competition and congratulated winners.
Gautam Bhatia said past events have attracted between 4,000 and 5,000 people. He spoke about the significance and importance of Diwali, that is celebrated by millions in India, and other countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Trinidad.
At the event, certificates were awarded to winners of the Swami Vivekananda scholarships instituted by the board. In 2017 the IACOAB established the Swami Vivekananda scholarships meant for college-bound high school seniors, who have demonstrated exemplary community service. Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk, introduced Hinduism to the West with a resounding speech at the first Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893.
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