The AAINA Celebrates its Third Anniversary

The Association of Americans of Indian origin in New England Area (AAINA) held its Third Annual Function on Friday, November 19 at the Cumnock Hall, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA. The evening started with a Social Hour at 6: PM and then the guest speakers addressed the gathering. The guest speakers included Hon. Consul General of India Pramathesh Rath, Hon. Massachusetts State Senator Sue Tucker, Hon. New Hampshire State Senator Lou D'Allesandro, Mr. Ram Sudireddy, VP,- AMCC, Mr. Sameer Desai, President, Aditi, Inc. and Mr. Altaf Shaikh, Founder and CEO of HightechClub.com, Inc. Ms. Chitra Parayath was the Emcee.

Mr. Rath spoke about our two democracies and their affinity toward being the natural strategic allies. He spoke about the India's thriving democracy where three top national positions of President, Prime Minister and the Head of the Ruling Alliance are held by three people from the minority sections of the populace. He appreciated the work that the groups of Indian Americans like the AAINA are doing here in the States. He praised the Indian American community for building bridges between India and the United States. 

Senator Tucker from Massachusetts State Senate praised the contributions of the Indian Americans and how they are excelling in almost every field including, Academics, Business, Engineering, IT, Medical and other professions. She challenged the audience to actively participate in the American political process. She cited a few examples how AAINA being only 3 years old is doing a great job of getting the Indian American Community involved in the local and national political activities. She praised the AAINA's leadership for working with the local political leadership. However she cautioned the members that it needs to do more and still it has a long way to go.

New Hampshire State Senator Mr. Lou D'Allesandro spoke about the minority community like the Indian Americans are making the United States a better place for every one. He said how it took Italian Americans over 200 years to elect an Italian as the Massachusetts State Senate. He exhorted the attendees to take active part in the American democratic political process.

Mr. Sameer Desai spoke about the contributions of the Indian American Community and how they have become really active in the American political process. He mentioned about the Indian Americans getting involved in the Presidential Campaigns this year and how a greater number of Indian Americans actively participated in both Republican and Democratic campaigns. However, we still need to do a lot more, he indicated.

Mr. Ram Sudireddy addressed the members and also exhorted the community to get involved in the local and regional community affairs. He advised the community not to close their other options and asked them to consider supporting both of the major parties. 

Mr. Altaf Shaikh spoke about the AAINA's several activities, including sponsoring the External Affairs Minister at JFK School of Government, Harvard University, a Symposium regarding India and Pakistan and sponsoring the Visa Camp in Lowell during last July. He praised the AAINA leadership for doing a great job of working with the Indian as well as the American leadership. However, he challenged the members to try to rise higher levels of achievements to benefit the community.

A cultural program, "The Meaning of Life - The Melodies of Reality" directed by Harbal DEEP Singh, written by Sanjay Kaul and choreographed and acted by Kalpana Chatterjee and other cast members was presented right after the main guests addresses. "The Meaning of Life" was based on the original text from the Bhagvad Gita. It was an extravaganza of beautifully done classical dance sequences based on the Lord Krishna's discourse given to the warrior Pandava Prince Arjuna at the battle field of Kurukshetra. The medium of dance drama was used to interpret the lessons of the Bhagwad Gita to fit in todays world. 
The cultural program was the highlight of the function. The audience loved appreciated the play. All in all, it was a great program.

At the conclusion of the cultural program a sumptuous Indian Dinner,sponsored by the Bollywood Grill Restaurant, was served.

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