CARLE PLACE, NY (TIP): India’s Consul General Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, NY State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar , Town of North Hempstead Clerk Ragini Srivastava joined the Indian American community at the festival of colors hosted by The Indian Panorama in Carle Place in Long Island on March 24.
Into the fifth year, the Holi and Hola celebrations started in 2019 have come to stay.
The highlights of this year’s performances was a display of Sikh martial art – Gatka- by Sardar Daler Singh’s Gatka academy students. The guests were thrilled and spellbound to see young kids wielding swords and other weapons. They appeared to be on the battlefield. Consul General Mr. Pradhan was immensely impressed with the performance as were about a hundred guests present. The Indian Panorama honored Sardar Daler Singh with a replica of the Golden Temple.
A Holi dance performance by students from Shilpa Jhurrani’s dance academy won the admiration and applause of the gathering. The performers were honored with a replica of the Golden Temple.
Mr. Kulbhooshan Sharma sang a lovely Holi song “Rang barse…” and soon the ladies took to dance floor. Mr. Sharma received loud applause. He was honored with a replica of the Golden Temple.
Mr. H.P. Singh earned the royal crown, as he was selected through a draw of lots as the Mahamoorkh. He has joined the ranks of Tirlok Malik and Ravi Batra who are his senior Mahamoorkh. He obviously cherished the new title, as he was seen grinning at the time of his coronation.
When Surya Makkar played Dhol, it became difficult for the guests to remain seated. Soon they took to dance floor. Surya was joined by his sister Prachi Makkar who is an accomplished singer. She wove a magic web with her boliyan and tappe, and soon a large part of the gathering was dancing. The finale came with a thrilling Bhangra performance by Dr. Reena Sharma who was introduced to The Indian Panorama by an upcoming moviemaker and director Neha Lohia.
In his address, Consul General Binaya Srikanta Pradhan congratulated the gathering on the occasion of Holi and Hola and lauded the performances. He said he was happy to be with the Indian American community on the Long Island. He spoke about the strong relationship between India and the US and gave credit to the Indian American community for the ever-growing relationship. He expressed happiness that the Indian Americans here were preserving and promoting their culture, which was visible from the participation of the young kids.
Seen in the picture, from L to R: Dr. Jag Kalra, Beena Kothari, Gunjan Rastogi, Jyoti Gupta, Prof. Indrajit Saluja, Consul General Mr. Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, Ragini Srivastava, Shashi Malik
New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar spoke about her grim struggle to have the Diwali holiday in New York schools. She thanked the community for their support which, she said, means a lot to her.
Town of North Hempstead Clerk Ragini Srivastava spoke about her long and strong relationship with the community. She said she was always around to assist the community in every way.
The Indian Panorama publisher and editor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja thanked the dignitaries who were honored with traditional shawls and a replica of the Golden Temple. Prof. Saluja said all the guests were VIPs and community leaders and thanked them for their gracious presence. He thanked Arminder Arora and Tript Arora, his long-time friends who had come from India to celebrate the 18th year of publication of The Indian Panorama, and their cousins from Connecticut who joined them at Holi and Hola celebrations.
He also thanked members of the organizing committee- Jyoti Gupta, chairperson, Shashi Malik, Dr. Jag Kalra, Abha Bhatnagar, Anju Sharma, Gunjan Rastogi , Beena Kothari and Jaskiran Saluja.
Standing L to R: Abha Bhatnagar, Shashi Malik, Jag Kalra, Mr. Kothari, Beena Kothari, Anju Sharma. Gunjan Rastogi and Jaskiran Saluja are missing.