Our Bureau
New York
To mark International Women’s Day, Indian American Forum organized a gala at Long Island, New York. Distinguished women achievers from different fields were honored and felicitated. Held on 5th March and attended by more than 300 people, the Indian American Forum gala was where several distinguished women were celebrated and recognized for their achievements.
Indu Jaiswal, chairperson of IAF said, “It was a very successful, sold-out event. We had to turn people away.” Dr Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill; Vandana Jauhar, a leading musical artist and singer with her popular albums ‘Albela’ and ‘Papa’; Dr Parul Dua Makkar, a renowned dentist who has co-authored the book ‘Life Interrupted and Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide’, a winner for the Best Inspirational/Motivational CIPA Evy Award; Sandhya Bhatia, Vice president ·of Flushing Bank, who has demonstrated a history of working in the financial services industry and Nayana Brahmbhatt, a BAPS volunteer who has volunteered in various capacities since 1989, including community outreach, public relations, and hosting annual women’s conferences.
Young Achiever, Ria Parashar, a volunteer at Children’s Hope who helps the special needs community also received recognition for her volunteering services.
The gala was organized under the leadership of Indu Jaiswal and Gala Chair Shammi Singh, and their team members. Dr. Bobby Kalotee of IAF, who is chairman of the Human Rights Commission Nassau County New York welcomed and praised the achievements of Rajkumar and Srivastava saying they portrayed women’s empowerment and success.
The 5 women achievers were also presented with Citations by Deputy Supervisor Dorothy Goosby from Town of Hempstead, Supervisor Town of Oyster Bay Joseph Saladino, Elaine Phillips from the Nassau County Comptroller Office, and Town of North Hempstead Clerk Ragini Srivastava.
The awards ceremony was moderated by Ratna Bhalla, Inesha Joneja, Chanbir Sethi, Roopam Maini, Dr. Prachi Dua, Dr. Pallavi Singh and Sunita Manjrekar.
Among those present during the event were Padma Shri recipient Dr Sudhir Parikh, Dr Sudha Parikh, Dr Bobby Kumar Kalotee, founder of IAF, Dr Urmilesh Arya, Dr Bhupendra Patel, Surinder Rametra, Beena Kothari, Vijay Goswamy, Anju Sharma, Sanju Sharma, Jasbir Jay Singh, Flora Parekh, president of Gift of Life USA, Anil Shah from VTNY, Sunil Jain from Vass Pipe, Rizwan Qureshi from HAB Bank, Madhu Pareek from Navika, Anuj Rihal, Dr. Harshad Bhatt from BAPS, Gobind Munjal President National AIA, Smiti Khanna, Dr Dina Pahlajani President Children’s Hope, members of AAPIQLI, Harry Malhotra, Jasbir Jay Singh several past honorees and many distinguished community and organization leaders.
The well-presented event was emceed by Aashmeeta Yogiraj. Traditional performances by Desi Beats and Angel Shah, symbolizing the significance of Holi as a festival of colors, were enjoyed by the audience.
