Month: March 2011

Bolingbrook IL: Association of Pakistani Americans in Bolingbrook celebrated Pakistan Day on March 26th in the Levy Center, 251 Canterbury Lane, Bolingbrook IL. Consul General of Pakistan Honorable Zaheer Parvez Khan was the chief guest. Mayor of Bolingbrook Honorable Roger Claar was the guest of honor. He attended the event with several city officials. Consul General in his address highlighted the importance of March 23rd and thanked Pakistani community in Bolingbrook for arranging this event to educate the local community members. He appreciated the gesture of the Honorable Mayor for attending the function. It is to the credit of the Bolingbrook Pakistani American community that that Bolingbrook is the only community in the entire United States of America to host this flag hoisting event for eighteen years! And the Consulate General of Pakistan has never failed to attend any of these flag hoisting events. Consul General presented the book, “Journey thru Pakistan book” to the Mayor Claar and invited Mr. Talat Rashid, Ajaz Gill, Mir Ali and other prominent member of the community to be at the stage. There were around 200 people. The program was divided in two parts, 1st half was about Pakistan and other half was the […]

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Bolstered by a legion of towering endorsements, Debra Silverstein – a candidate for 50th ward Alderman in the City of Chicago – received another string of South Asian community’s grass-root endorsements at a press conference held on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at Punjabi Dhaba Banquet Hall on Devon Ave in Chicago. Debra Silverstein’s candidacy has been gaining momentum with a string of high level endorsements coming from Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel, US Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Cook County Sherriff Tom Dart and Indo American Democratic Organization. With the rendering of South Asian community endorsements, the Aldermanic candidacy of Debra Silverstein certainly gets a considerable boost as she faces the run-off election on Tuesday, April, 5, 2011. The press conference gained an added prominence when ranking member of the United States Congress Hon. Jan Schakowsky joined the press conference and passionately declared “I am proud to endorse Debra for Alderman of the 50th ward. With her enthusiastic endorsement, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky said Debra Silverstein will make an outstanding Alderwoman who will bring a real change and offer solutions to the enduring problems faced by the ward. Congresswoman Schakowsky said Debra Silverstein truly has what it takes to be the best candidate who will […]

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Schaumburg IL: Well known Indian community leaders, Dhitu Bhagwakar, Amol Bhagwakar, Neil Khot and Sunil Shah hosted a fundraiser for the re-election of Al Larson as the Mayor of Schaumburg at Strike Ten Lanes & Lounge, 800 E Nerge road, Roselle IL on last March 23rd Wednesday, 2011, at 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm. After the socializing hour from 6 to 8 pm, the fund-raising function started with Neil Khot extending a warm welcome to the distinguished guests and thanking them for their valuable participation to support the incumbent Mayor, Al Larsen, who had served them well during his tenure. Especially, he thanked Dhitu Bhagwakar and Strike Ten for allowing hosting this event. Lavishing praise on the Indian community he said that they are no longer a standby community but more involved in the civic affairs than ever before. He stated that about 17% or 13,000 of Schaumburg resident are Indians. Amid applause he recognized and thanked the Mayor of Village of Schaumburg for administering the city with dedication and efficiency. Alluding to the declaration of January 20th as the “Federation of Indian Associations Day”, by the Mayor he said the entire community is grateful to the gesture of the […]

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Elmhurst, IL: Federation of Indian Associations [FIA-Chicago / New] celebrated the colorful festival of Holi at Waterford Banquet & Conference Center, 933 S. Riverside Drive, Elmhurst, IL 60126, on March 20, 2011. Attended by over 200 members of the Indian American community the function was graced by several dignitaries, including the Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson, Village trustees and the Executive Committee, Dilip Patel of Six Gam Patidar Samaj, Suryakant Patel and Kamleshbhai of Gujarati Samaj, members of the FIA Chicago, viz., Sunil Shah (President), Onkar Sangha (Exec. Vice President), Babu Varma (FIA Vice President & Indian Christen Federation of Midwest community leader), Sunny Kular (Vice President), Monty Saiyed (Vice President), Shahid Razvi (Secretary), Jaswant B. Singha (Joint Secretary), Nilesh Khot (Youth Director), Sahaj Shah (Youth Director) and Swapnil Shah (Youth Director). In his welcome address Sunil Shah, expressed his special thanks to the esteemed dignitaries who have taken time out of their busy schedules attend this event. He pledge that he would endeavor to bring about unity of Indian community of Chicago offering opportunity to the organizations and people to come together to enjoy their common heritage shared for centuries. The messages received from the well wishers and politicians were […]

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Downers Grove, IL: AIPhA (Association of Indian Pharmacists in America) Student Chapter, held a Cultural Night, at Midwestern University, 555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL on Friday, March 18th, 2011. The function began with a welcoming speech by the president, Jalpa Thakkar, and was followed by the singing of American National Anthem by Al Barreto and the Indian Anthem by Jenise Stephen. This was immediately followed by Bharatantyam, a classical dance performed by a talented first year medical student, Anisha Gohil. The theme of the dance was revolved around the fascinating story of Lord Krishna, whose exploits of valor, love and responses to the call of devotees has mesmerized the lives of millions of Hindus in India for millennia. This form of dance is reputedly originated over two thousand years ago by sage Bharata, whose name is reverentially attached to this. The next item was a delightful performance by four artist, first year pharmacy students, Aditi Chikani, Ralitza Anguelova, Liliann D. Nguyen, and Zheni Stoyanova, who are active members of the Kappa Psi Fraternity, one of the oldest and largest international pharmacy fraternities. This was choreographed by Aditi Chikani. The Midwestern Faculty Fashion Show was the next item performed by […]

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Chicago IL: The Federation of Indian Associations-Chicago under the auspice of its newly elected President Satish ‘Sunny’ Gabhawala announced the election of new office bearers that constitutes the governing executive board for the year 2011-2012 – at a press conference held on Monday, March 14, 2011 at Punjabi Dhaba Restaurant on Devon Ave. Chicago, Illinois. In full compliance with the provisions of FIA constitution, Satish Gabhawala announced that the FIA elections were held at the general body meeting of March 13, 2011 and the following were elected unanimously for the year 2011-2012: Satish ‘Sunny’ Gabhawala, President Dr. Kamal Patel, Executive Vice President Kishan Patel, Vice President Micky Kahlon, Vice President Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, Vice President Ajai Agnihotri, Secretary Girish Patel, Treasurer Devendra Patel, Joint Secretary Avinash Desai, Joint Treasurer Addressing the press conference, a determined and resolute FIA President Satish Gabhawala asserted that it shall be his goal to preserve, protect and defend this 30-year old community umbrella organization from forces that seeks to divide it. Satish ‘Sunny’ Gabhawala described FIA as one united family that is bonded together with shared goals and nothing will come in the way to break this stubbornly united family. Satish Gabhawala expressed the board’s […]

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Palatine, IL: Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago in conjunction with the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago Palatine organized an Indian passport surrender certificate camp on Sunday March 13, 2011, at SRS Palatine Gurdwara, 1280 Winnetka St., Palatine, IL 60067, from 10 AM to 4 PM. Ten officials from the consulate of India Chicago office led by Honorable Consul Vishvas Sapkal and many PCS & SRS volunteers joined hands to manage the applicant crowd logistics, and processing of the documents to issue the surrender certificates right there and then. The services were free and open to all. More than 400 surrender certificates were issued. Some applicants had to go back due to incomplete documents. More than 500 people with families started lining up early and the Gurudwara was crowded with anxious applicants. For some of them it was their first time to a Gurudwara (a Sikh place of worship) where one has to remove their shoes and cover their head and no tobacco products are allowed on their person. “We were overwhelmed but deeply pleased with such a tremendous response from the Indian American community at-large, and we are so glad that PCS has been of service to them. It was […]

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The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC), in cooperation with Consulate General of India, Chicago organized a spectacular cultural dance event “Inspiring India” by Tanushree Shankar on March 12th 2011 evening at 6:30pm at temple auditorium. With a brief prayer and condolences for recent Japan Earth quake and tsunami victims, Sri Amrish Mahajan Chairman, Public relations, HTGC welcomed Tanushree Shankar and troupe to a loud applause by the audience. Sri Uday Shankar’s work in blending traditional Indian classical dance with modern Western theatrical techniques was revolutionary in mid-20th century India. The same tireless effort has continued with Smt. Tanushree Shankar’s company, which follows the innovative style of dance that Uday Shankar established but also adds its own distinctive flair. The style is not based on any one particular style of dance. Rather, it draws from a myriad of Indian classical dance forms, ballet, and traditional folk dances. The program began with an invocatory item “Durga Vandana” in praise of Goddess Durga, followed by “Vrukshya Vihar”(depicting the naturalistic beauty of the forests), “Maitri”(the celebration of womanhood), and “Pratiksha” (the longing for oneness). The show concluded with the feature presentation “Chirantan”, where the dancers portrayed “Hope and inspiration”. “Chirantan” was an appropriate […]

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Chicago IL: The Association of Rajasthanis in America (ARA) celebrated Holi with their annual function at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont, Illinois on Saturday, March 12, 2011. It was the third Holi event for the organization since they began celebrating this festival. 300 guests attended led by the president, Ram Saini. The event was highlighted with melodious songs by well known singer Shaila Khedkar and dances by the Tarana Dance Academy. The Master of Ceremonies, Gaurav Arora began the event with a welcome note by Sunita Sarup. This was followed by a mixture of songs and dances, including four sensational dances – Kathak and Bollywood show by 26 participants from the Academy. There was also a Rajasthani medley performed by Garima Jajoo, Mahie Gopalka and Anavi Tekriwal. Along with the Indian American community of Chicagoland, several dignitaries including the local politicians Ram Saini (President), Sunita Sarup (Vice President), Kalpana Malani (Secretary), Seema Mahansaria (Cultural Coordinator) Sunita Mantri, and lots of members of Association of Rajasthanis of America were present for Holi Milan. ARA (Association of Rajasthanis of America) was established in Chicago in July 1994 in order to preserve and maintain the Rajasthani culture for Indians living […]

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Itasca, IL: As what the famous philosopher Lao Tzu once said, there are millions of ways one could look at a certain thing. The same is also applicable to plays as in this case the play, entitled “Ja Tari Sathe Kitta”, staged last Friday at Shree Swaminarayan Temple, 21W 710 Irving Park Road, Itasca, IL. Ticket: $30 and up including dinner. The play is about Manav Dholakia who is awarded for his business ventures and he is one of the top notch industrialists living happily with wife, two children and his father. There is a party for his achievements and the who’s who of the society is invited. A stranger Ms. Meera lands up at the party. Everyone is stunned with this unknown guest who comes and unveils Manav’s past. A series of misunderstandings create havoc in his life which transforms into a roller-coaster ride. A series of misunderstandings and comedy of errors takes over transforming this play as a robustly enjoyable romantic comedy for all to enjoy. This situation comedy depicts how the relationship between two persons can be broken, especially how others can know that the relationship is completely broken? Can a truthfully developed relation be completely destroyed? […]

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Merrillville, IN: The Indian American Cultural Center of Merrillville, Indiana held its Ninth Annual Gala Fundraiser on Saturday, March 5, 2011 on a grand scale with nearly 700 Hoosiers of Indian American community participating in the event. This grand occasion was reminiscent of the words of Swami Chinmayananda, who once said, “The success is not in the trophy won but in the race run.” The function raised about $150,000 for the various activities of the Center. The Center is a proud achievement of the Indian community of Northwest Indiana, which, after five years of planning and hard work, opened the center in March 2002. The center is housed in a beautiful building on 14 acres of land and has become the hub of their many cultural and social activities. The Indian American Cultural Center (IACC) of NWIHRC (Northwest Indiana Hindu Religious Center) is a non-profit organization that started nine years ago with a goal to build a Community Center in Northwest Indiana. The center opened on March 9, 2002. With the generous support of the community, the Center expanded the premises in June 2010 to include an expanded community hall and its crown jewel, The Bharatiya Temple of North West […]

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Air Tours Inc. is known to be a “One stop travel shop”. With an initial focus on distinct business of Air Ticketing, we have today evolved as one of the biggest consolidators for many airlines. Growing in the field we have also moved into organizing pleasant and memorable world tours around the globe since the last 10 years. Today, moving further ahead we are also full fledged cruise package organizers. Air Tours Inc. has built a reputation with over 30 years of solid foundation that is based on 3 core principles: cost effectiveness, focused solutions and excellence in service for reliable, honest and efficient travel services. On the 05th of March 2011, Air Tours organized an event for its customers to present all of its 2011 Holiday Packages. The event was a grand success with a presence of 70 guests, who have shown their interest in the next holiday season. Our professional Tour Manager Mr. Zubin Elavia came from India especially for this event and presented a gist about our tour packages for various destinations this year which included Europe, Kenya & South Africa, China, Egypt, Australia & New Zealand, South America and many more. He mentioned very clearly about […]

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