The Convention Center’s main entrance and the walkways were beautifully decorated. Crafty artisans; Mrs. Smita & husband Mr. Rajesh Shah, with a team of dedicated volunteers and additional items supplied by Kalpana Patel, created a whole bunch of artifacts to décor the Conference Campus. Whilst artisan Ramila Lodhaya beautifully created the built-in makeshift Temple (Derasar) at the Convention. At the main entrance there were attractive arches to resemble the famous temples of Palitana in Gujarat. White carved cylindrical panels held the arches permanently, throughout the entire duration of the convention. There was a floral silhouette of Mahavir Swami Bhagwan and about an 8’ x 8’ Styrofoam replica of the temples of Samat Shikhar, with the mountain, painstakingly carved, painted and decorated with true life-paint colors (which piece alone took more than 4 months to complete and which will be preserved at the Jain temple in Atlanta, for future visitors to see and admire). There was a make shift temple created at the venue for chaste worshippers to continue their daily prayers without interruptions. A jharokha on two sides of the temple entrance was set up where the Vidhikar: Narendrabhai Nandu, who performed the Temple opening ceremony, Aarti and Mangal Divo and later Sadhus and Sadhvijis performed the blessing ceremony. Outside the Derasar were five cubicles decorated with captivating paintings and sculptures to replicate the 5 elements of Jainism: Panchkalyanak- Chyavan, Janma, Diksha, Kevalgyan and Moksha.
The “swagatam” ceremony, welcoming all the guests, comprised of a welcome song composed by Indravadan Bhavsar followed by a fusion of classical and folk dances, showcasing a cross-country journey from East to the West including items from Atlanta to Chicago to Southern California, interlaced with welcome messages by JAINA Board Members and conveners of this event. Two young dancers performed a zesty dance to “Jeenu jeenu ude re gulal Prabhuji tare mandiriye” and a skit P.K. presented by the Atlanta youngsters.
 

Media Conference: After the Swagatam ceremony and before the first dinner, followed by Raas-Garba, there was an official Press Conference called. On the behest of Mrs. Madhu Sheth, Viren Mayani had quickly organized a press conference to discuss the event, JAINA at large and the Convening entity the Jain Society of Greater Atlanta (JSGA). The conversation presenters were current JAINA President Ashok Domadia from San Francisco, Past President Sushil Jain, Shobha Vora also from San Francisco, Hemant Shah from Chicago and from Atlanta: Deepak Shah (JAINA Co Convener & past President of JSGA), Sameer Shah (Current JSGA President), Madhu Sheth (Past President of JSGA) and Santosh Kothari (Past JSGA Board Member). Media present were: Ravindra & Devyani Dave of Rashtra Darpan, Anjali Chhabria of TV Asia, Vinod Sharma of Bytegraph, Mahadev Desai representing a host of publications, Mustafa Ajmeri of India Tribune, Mamta Shaha of Mangalam TV Show and Viren Mayani of Khabar and Guest lecturer of Jainism at Kennesaw State University.

Host City Atlanta’s Jain Center President and Convention Board member; Samir Shah informed all that for past eight months more than 300 people have been working tirelessly to make the Convention memorable. The Convention gave an opportunity for the Jain community to come together, to bond and renew old friendships besides forging new ones. It provided an opportunity to learn and teach about Jainism. The approximately 4000 registered raised $600,000 and an equal amount of funding was raised through other means. At the Press Conference we learnt that there are now routine Jain presentations held at the Obama Whitehouse as well as Jain leaders seeking high political posts to influence Non-Violence as a means to settle international disputes and more.
Raas-Garba Night: Raas, as we know, is a dance which originated in Gujarat but thanks to Bollywood, it is now celebrated across the globe by all races and nationalities, irrespective of their faith. One of the most popular traditional folk dances, it is extremely easy to perform and enjoy. Mumbai - based Classic Productions Director; Kamlesh Bhuptani’s artists’ regaled the attendees at the Raas-Ramzat program. The packed hall of guests, young and old, decked in colorful formal costumes formed circles and performed the high-energy garba and dandiya raas with loads of fun and masti to hypnotic drum beats and popular Gujarati songs by noted singer Abhesinh Rathod, accompanied by Rinku Patel and Jayshri Khavadiya and ably supported by musicians Hitesh Bakdas, Jayanti Kabira and Kunal.

Friday; the next day, began with the Grand Opening Ceremony, a Procession, Dignitaries and Keynote Speakers:
Present were Hon. Nagesh Singh, India’s new Consul General to the southeastern US, UN Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, Hon. Bucky Johnson; Mayor of Norcross, Mr. Nipun Mehta (a noted philanthropist), Mafatlal Patel of Patel Brothers (who donated all the food for preparations of 3 meals a day for 4000 attendees), as well as Atlanta’s R. K. Sehgal besides others known personalities.
Whilst the welcoming team led by Mrs. Madhu Sheth, were waiting to receive the Honored Guests with the traditional Indian welcome of a “tikka” (red vermillion dot) and a “mala” (garland), there was a huge procession scheduled to be taken around the GICC campus before the Ceremonial Opening of the Convention, inside the main hall.

The grand procession commenced outside of GICC Center in front of Springhill Suites. Ladies clad in fetching saris and carrying “kalashes” earthen pots marched in front. They were followed by a van and beautifully and imaginatively themed floats festooned with flower-garlands, and carrying the idol of Lord Mahavir. Some participants rode, sang devotional songs and danced on the floats, while some marched in the parade waving Indian Tricolors & U.S. flags and even Kenya flags and carried banners and posters, and some in colorful costumes and attractive turbans sang and danced in the procession with jubilation. Shouts of joy from the throng of onlookers gathered along the route, greeted the floats as they arrived. The whole procession was marked with euphoria and spirit of effervescent joy. Inside the main hall, the ceremonial opening began with a song: “Maitri bhav nu pavitra zarnu’ led by Indravadan Bhavsar and ably supported by an adult group of choir members.

Hon., Consul General Nagesh Singh welcomed the attendees: “I extend my greetings and good wishes for the Convention to be a big success. I have the privilege of reading this message from the Hon. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modiji: I am happy to learn that there are 71 Jain centers in North America. JAINA is holding its 18th biennial Convention in Atlanta, USA, on Thursday July 2, 2015. I am also pleased to note that the theme of this year’s Convention is Non-Violence. I hope that this Convention will emerge as an effective platform for the distinguished delegates to reflect on the teachings of Lord Mahavir and his eternal message of Ahimsa. On this occasion I wish the Conference all the success.”


A live recorded message of Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji’s message was played, as JAINA was started in 1981 with the blessings from Gurudev and Acharya Shri Sushil Kumarji, in Los Angeles. Gurudev has attended all the JAINA Conventions in the past, but due to his age, despite good health, he was unable to make this long trip, for the Atlanta convention. JAINA’s Gunvantbhai Shah informed every one of the same and requested his message be played. “We must respect other’s point of view and not impose our point of view on others. I call the Ahimsa theme a highway where all exits of various beliefs meet there and all hopefully realize the simplicity of life and by living it, we are all able to live a life, which is purposeful and meaningful.”

JAINA’s Co-Convener and past President of JSGA; Deepak Shah welcomed all and presented a short video of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s Greetings and good wishes: “Welcome to Georgia and the capital city of Atlanta. We are honored to be hosting the first JAINA Conference ever held in the South East of USA. In particular I would like to thank Dr. Sheth for his share of bringing this wonderful convention to Atlanta. The theme of this Convention is promoting the world of non-violence. We are proud of Georgia’s native son Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of action for non-violence which is still relevant today throughout our state. Atlanta is home of world class educational institutions such as Georgia Tech and Emory University. Atlanta has much to provide for better education for your children and grandchildren. Thank you for inviting me. Bless you. Hope you have a lovely and enjoyable Convention.”
The morning Opening Ceremonies continued with all the Maha Sanghpati’s and Sanghpati’s besides Grand Sponsors, Corporate Sponsors et al; being recognized and felicitated with plaques, on stage.
Prior to Congressman’s John Lewis’s remarks on stage, a hair-raising video was played about his Selma March. Hon. Lewis was born outside of Troy, Alabama in 1940. He was bothered with unfairness of segregation. He helped organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He also participated in Freedom Rides of 1961. He helped plan the March on Washington in 1963. He and Hosea Williams led a march from Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. He suffered a fractured skull due to police brutality on the marchers.’ Bloody Sunday’ as the day was called sped up the passage of Voting Rights Act in 1965. In 1986, he was elected to the House of Representatives representing Georgia’s 5th District. Following the chilling video, Congressman Lewis spoke of the requests to walk-on across the bridge to the Police Captain and his team, who were bent to stop the weapon-less and nicely dressed marchers. He spoke of their denial for the same and the brutality that followed wherein Congressman was heavily beaten and still suffers from the physical pain and mental anguish associated with it.

John Lewis: “Thank you for your fine words of introduction. Welcome to Atlanta. Welcome here. I am very delighted, and very happy to see each and every one of you. Had it not been for Gandhi, his teachings, his philosophy, I would not be standing here today. (Applause) Thank you for preaching and teaching and living the way of peace, the way of love, and the way of non-violence. Were it not for Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. there would be no Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. (Loud applause) I have come here to say ‘Thank you. Thank you for being you.” John Lewis also recounted a touching event in his life. One of the guards that beat him came with his son to see him in Washington, D.C. He said “I am one of the men that beat you and your colleague. I have come to apologize. Will you forgive me?” He was in his 70s and his son in his 40s. Both started crying. I said, “I accept your apology. I forgive you. We hugged each other. That is power of the way of peace and the power of the way of love. That is the power of the way of non-violence. (Loud applause). Let us remember that and leave the world peaceful for generations to come.” His remarks brought all attendees to a silent state of shock and disbelief and he received a tumultuous standing ovation when he declared Gandhi as his mentor besides Dr. King, to take such a stand and seek freedom without lethal force.
Following Congressman John Lewis, a video depicting, then young and flamboyant; Ambassador Andrew Young, was played. His clips as a radio host and TV personality and then as an elected official, were shown. He too walked hand-in-hand with Dr. King and fought for the freedom of all human races. Ambassador Andrew Young was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated in 1955 and became an ordained minister. He joined the Civil Rights Movement working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He became a Mayor of Atlanta and the first African-American ambassador to the United Nations. In 1981 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He continues to fight for equality and economic justice around the world, even today.

Before Ambassador Young began his commentary he took the time to ask Viren Mayani, sitting next to him, the correct pronunciation of the term: “Jai Jinendra” and made sure he greeted the fully packed audience with the Jain welcome, for which he got an astounding applause! Young was in New York with his wife, working with the National Council of Churches. One day on TV they watched John Lewis leading the sit-in movement in Nashville and his wife said: “It is time for us to go home, in the South.” His wife had studied non-violence in College and Andrew Young learnt about it from her. “We continue to redeem the soul of America from the triple evils of racism, war and poverty. I think we have made enough progress on racism and war but little or no progress in ending poverty in this nation or in much of the world.” Young continued…”So the challenge for us is the one that we share with you and the one is; that only non-violence is the answer. If people have jobs and food they are less likely to be violent (applause). If you define a job as 30 hours a week, only 1.2 billion jobs exist on this planet. Many of the people who are fighting much of the disease, is because apparently they do not have a productive way of using their talents and creating income and opportunity for themselves and their children. You are known for not only being holy and religious people but also known for being enterprising. Global development of our planet has to be sensitive to our humanity, animal life, trees, shrubs, clean water etc. We must find a way to respect and preserve earth which God has trusted us with. That’s what we are trying to do in our Congress, and in our State. When I turned 80, I settled down in Atlanta and work through my Foundation. We help people understand that this is a Global economy. There cannot be prosperity in Germany unless there is prosperity in Greece. We have attracted more than 1500 German firms to Atlanta, because we believe in sharing economic opportunities. We have created a peaceful and prosperous environment so that their investments are safe. We function honestly and our business ties are transparent and efficient. We don’t let business bogged down in bureaucracy, corruption or any other things that prohibits growth and development of the planet that God has given us. (applause). Those of us who grew in the South - when John and I marched to Selma, Montgomery, and Savannah etc. saw the plight of the farmers. In absence of new crops, it was hard for farmers. One of the new crops I talk about now, I first saw it in Uganda. Victoria dam was clogged up with greenish goo. Lot of time and effort was used in killing it. But after several years, we thought that God must have put it on earth for some purpose. We just haven’t found out what it is! Instead of killing it, we refined it into pure and enriched form of protein on face of this earth (applause). One table spoon gives you more protein than a whole chicken or 8 oz. of steak. I think this is what Jainism has been all about (Laughter). In words of a hymn Gandhi used to like: Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. (Applause) So I look forward to working with you, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to heal the sick. I couldn’t appreciate Jesus until I understood Gandhi (applause). So I say to you, welcome to Atlanta and thank you for your presence in our lives. God is only beginning to work with and through us, for as long as there is hunger, for as long as there is violence, as long as there is disrespect for the environment, our message and our needs are going to be very much in demand. God bless you all”.

Speaking about President Carter, he said “he led this country without war for four years (applause). It was the politics of respect. He never told anybody, anywhere what to do with the rest of the world. When he sent me to Africa, he said “When you go there, ask African leaders, black, white, brown, what can we do to help?” And they asked for help - a peaceful transformation of Southern Africa. When he went to Israel and Egypt, they didn’t want to go to war but they alone could not find a way to stay out of it. So they asked him for help and now they have a Peace Treaty which is fifty years old, where no Egyptian has killed an Israeli and no Israeli has killed an Egyptian. (Applause). Either we all stand together and fight as humans, while we still have a chance or fight each other and perish as fools.” He too received a standing ovation when R. K. Sehgal aided his closure with a fact that Dr. King died in Ambassador’s Young’s lap! “Peace, and love and respect are only ways to make Jainism a true revelation of God on this planet. Thank you”… closed, Ambassador Young.
The final guest of honor to speak was Nipun Mehta, the founder of Service Space, an incubator of projects that works at the intersection of volunteerism, technology and gift-ecomy. He and his wife Guri live in Berkeley and stay rooted in a practice of small acts of service. His mission statement in life reads: “Bring smiles in the world and stillness in my heart”. The following are the excerpts from his remarks.

“Humility is an unpopular virtue. I went to a retreat in India and was about to have my lunch. I recited my prayer, when a young boy came and dipped his finger in my food. I asked him “Why?” The boy replied,” I wanted a piece of your prayer”. A sparrow hears that the sky is falling down, so he lies down on his back with his feet up. “I am trying to keep the sky up.” Google made a database of 5.2 million books. They found that words and phrases such as: kindness, helpfulness, humility, community, compassion, etc. are going out of fashion. Arrogance, he describes: we are filled with a sense of control instead of surrender, with our overblown feeling of ‘entitlement’. In a recent Gallup poll it was found that in Happiness index, U.S. went down from 12 to 23. Walk for world peace - Walk every three steps and then bow in humility; unconditional compassion. Humility is seen as a sign of weakness but in reality it is the gateway of unparalleled profound strength. Sikh Guru Arjan Dev Ji said “Humility is my mace. Becoming dust of everybody is my sword. No evil can withstand those weapons”. Mother Teresa was a beacon of humility. Christ washed the feet of the 12 apostles. “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth”. Nipun showed a slide of Gandhi’s possessions and then a video clip of Gandhi’s funeral procession from the movie “Gandhi”. There is grace. Everything we get is not earned. Everyone matters. Everyone has something to give. He narrated about his friend who was very successful in his career. He was married but had an autistic son Vivaan. Parents of Vivaan were worried,” Who will take care of him after they pass away?” With enlightenment they decided to hire autistic people in their business.

Power of One: Nipun recited an anecdote of South African President Nelson Mandela. Despite spending 27 years in jail, he forgave the White rulers stating: “No time for petty revenge”. In South Africa, Rugby was considered ‘white man’s sport’. He refused to withdraw his support for the South African team. South Africa won the Rugby Finals for the first time. Mandela attended the match, wore the South African color- jersey and congratulated the captain. The Captain thanked Mandela with teary eyes.
Power of Zero: He met Dada Vaswani who is 96 years old. Frail looking Dada got up to greet him saying “I am so grateful to have met you”. Dada who is full of humility spoke of his teacher, “Are you a poet? Are you an educationist? Are you an author? Are you a saint?” He said, 'I am a zero.' He paused for a while and added, 'I'm not the English zero as the English zero occupies space. I am the Sindhi 'Nukta'. In Sindhi, zero is written like a dot. So that was the ideal placed before me," Dada explained he once asked his Guru: “Dada, What will happen to the Mission after you pass away? “That’s not my concern. I'm not the one making this happen now, and it won't be me in the future. I just try to be zero."

Hon. John Lewis, Hon. Andrew Young & Nipun Mehta were all presented with commemorative plaques. From the many simultaneously held lectures and activities concurrently going on all over the Conference Campus; here are the highlights of two: (1) Lecture by Samani Suyashnidhi ji. She was introduced by Prema Gandhi who has a Masters in Dentistry and a Ph.D in Jainism. Sadhiviji spoke on Trust. It cannot be expressed but experienced. Cannot be purchased but exposed. It can be activated. Thirst is quenched when you have faith in water. Trust is the seed of the fruit of liberation. There are three paths 0f liberation: Right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The true trust: Tattvaartha shraidanam samyag darshanam. (2) Lecture by Gurudev Rakesh Jhaveri: Jivan Jeevvani Kala (The Art of Living Life). Learn the difference between Kashta (hardship) and Dukh (sorrow). Kashta is physical pain. Dukh is imagined. Dharma will destroy dukh. If you have an ashtray in a big furnished room that does not match you have 2 options: Get rid of ashtray or all the furniture. For a happy life, you should have a minimal requirements and maximum adjustments. Be in the present moment. Darshan nu sukh mano. Choiceless life is blissful.

In as much as the adults were busy throughout the day with a myriad list of activities so were the children. They were kept engaged and entertained and trained in various exercises and games by two well-trained directors / instructors from North America operations of Masterminds International. In addition to the programs for young kids the young adults had a Bridal Match Registry, collection of Bone Marrow cells, Jain Academic Bowl competition; JAINA’s got Talent and much more. There were booths selling apparel, CD’s, DVDs, literature mainly on Jainism, Travel companies, a booth for sinus flush NeilMed by Dr. Mehta, Navkar Mahamantra Yoga, StudioIndia.org etc. Authors Robert Arnett & Smita Turakhia also had a booth, Siddhayatan, Arham Inc., Airtour, BAPS Shayona, Maxim Tours, Bhindi Jewellers, Veerayatan and Aakaar -Marble Murtis all had displays.

Cultural Program:
The show began with the final round of competition for JAINA’s Got Talent. It included presentations: Jeenu Jeenu Ude Re Gulaal, Mangalacharan & Namokar Mantra. Hit songs such as: Bhagwan hai kahan re tu from film PK sung by Sonu Nigam. It had beautiful backdrops of Temple & Mosque, song Na hai pana na Khona hi hai from Jab We met & Song by Bela Gandhi: Aate jaate socha tha man meine pehli baar from Maine pyaar kiya. The first group winners were: Anjal Jain and Shilpi and second group: Vineet Jain and Bela Gandhi.
Atlanta’s "Jeenu Jeenu Garba" dance which won 2nd place, was perfomed by a group of 10 ladies: Neelima Kothari, Reema Ajmera, Ritu Dosi, Kamini Jain, Preeti Jain, Rashmi Jain, Ritu Jain, Shweta Jain, Sunita Peramaru and Rina. This dance was choreographed by NNKB's Vasanta Chivukula and Mital Patel. The Judges for the competition were recognized by JAINA President Ashok Domadia. Later, all choreographers and convention leaders got on stage as they illuminated their battery operated candles to sing the Navkar Mantra.
Music and dance form large part of our cultural fabric. Bollywood, folk, western music/dances tell stories of various regions in India, of different religions and customs. The high energy spirit displayed included performers from children to seniors from all over the country. The pre-recorded emcee voices of Reshma Shah and Seema Jain brought the cultural show to a great start by announcing: So Live, Let Live and Rock on! Sound and lights by AV Creations and the digital effects on the huge screen by Hitesh Shah, served as a fantastic backdrop. The cultural show, a feast for the senses was an extravaganza of spectacle. The audience was totally engaged and immersed.

The first half of the show included presentations from all over the country: Maa Tujhe Salaam, Rind Posh Maal, Kay Je Jiv Ki Suno, Ayo re Dholna, Shubharambh, Jino jino ude re gulaal, Pani Da Rang, Aaja Nachle, and Girinar Stavan.
The second half of the program primarily had presentations from Atlanta groups and dance academies. After 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the City’s population and infrastructure got a boost. Atlanta, home of the busiest airport in the world, has a rich history. In addition to being headquarters of many world renowned institutions like CDC, CNN, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS, Carter Institute and Civil and Human Rights museum,etc; it has been home of many great civil rights leaders including Dr. M.L.K. Jr. This spirit of progress is also embodied in the Jain community of Atlanta, which is home to 550 Jain families some of whom have been here for over five decades. They have been practicing Jain traditions and passing it on, beginning with home grown pathshala classes to now having their own facility, by funding, designing and constructing their own Jain Center; JSGA in Norcross.
The second half began with a prayer to Lord Ganpati with the popular song: Deva Shree Ganesha. Then it was Mein Tera Hero, followed by Tune Maari entriyaan by Kruti Dance Academy’s teenage students, who rolled out the red carpet and opened the doors to welcome all. After that was Senorita from Zindagi na milegi dobara film: This item was out of the ball park as it was contemporary and non-traditional fusion dance performed by young boys & girls. Choreographed by Atlanta’s proficient Bharatnatyam virtuoso Rifka Mayani, of the Tandav Themes Dance Academy & KSU’s instructor with the Program in Dance; it was a collaborative Bharat Natyam and a Latino flavored Spanish item. The young female dancers in frilled flamenco attires with fans in hand and the young boys in black pants, red shirts, black jackets & hats performed a scintillating dance, stepping out from behind mirrors that they had rolled on to the stage and using them as unique props. The Flamenco inspired beats, jarring guitars, handclapping and dance passion, elicited a resounding applause. A good score from Atlanta! That was followed by a dance medley: Bezubban- overstating that you can take someone out of India, but certainly not the Indian out of him. A Mahek Dance Academy presentation of Radha on dance floor was popular as well.

“Jai Ho” from the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire with music composed by the world famous, A. R. Rahman; also Choreographed by Rifka Mayani, was next. Early-teen girls presented a celebration of victory through ahimsa. True victory comes not through weapons and wars but through silent resistance and from peace within. This was a foot-tapping ecstatic applause-winner! The backdrop included still images of Nobel Laureates and Global Peace Apostles such as Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and President Carter etc; with a spinning globe. Manwa Laage and Banke Titli, next, was also by Mahek Dance Academy had ladies perform a joyful dance with a backdrop of yellow butterflies hovering over an open and green meadow. Followed by A Town Down in which High School performers, who choreographed this dance, performed clad in white shirts, black pants and red bow ties. The next item was unique. “Our roots”: was a skit within a dance. While parents and their kids have different preferences of technology, media and music; they are inseparable in their bond of love for each other and the values they share. In this dance, a mom is seen scolding her daughter who is spending lot of time texting and calling on her smartphone. Some mothers who are anxious about their children’s addiction to the electronic gadgets constantly remind them to concentrate on their studies instead. In the skit the daughter insists on attending a party at night. These parties invariably extend into wee hours, causing anxiety to parents. The dance ends with the daughter saying what they often forget to tell: “Mom /dad we love you”. This was followed by the high energy and much loved; Nagada dhol, by an energetic group of moms.

The Grand Finale: was the coming on stage by all the performers waving battery operated lights and swaying to the extremely popular and patriotic “India Wale” which was the dazzling finale - an icing on the Cake and which received a thunderous standing ovation.
Bollywood night: Prior to Kumar Sanu’s performance, a small group of young students of Atlanta’s NNKB (Nritya Natya Kala Bharti), performed a dance on the "Upasarghar Stotra", which was choreographed by Samta Savla. Mital Patel worked with the girls to embellish the performance. The remainder of the night celebrated the absolutely powerful and musically enlightening performance of 2009 Padmashree Kumar Sanu; one of India’s most popular Bollywood playback singers. He is the recipient of Filmfare Best Playback Singer Award for five consecutive years. Accompanied by two female singers and a small but powerful group of musicians, he regaled the packed to capacity audience, with over three hours of his choicest vintage songs from his wide repertoire. The singer had an instant rapport with the audience. He let his dancing fans come all the way to both sides of the stage, and who relentlessly danced for him until the concert came to the end. At which time all the women conveners rushed on stage and he joyfully took pictures with them announcing that he had never witnessed a crowd so well behaved and engaged in listening to his music. He took quite a few requests and threaded them in his repertoire to satisfy the screaming crowd. Some of the hits he sang included: Ek Ladki ko dekha, Do dil mil rahe hain, Sasson ki zaroorat hai, Taza taza kali khili hai, Aaj hamare dil mein, and duets such as: Dil hai ke manta nahi, Dheere dheere se meri Zindagi mein aana, Sochenge tumhe pyaar, Jab koi baat bigad jaye and many more. He showed his singing prowess by singing a Rafi song ‘Hui sham unka khyaal aa gaya and a Mukesh hit: Aansoo bhari hai”. He admitted he learnt a lot from these veterans whilst grooming to become a singer.

During the Program one of the most prestigious JAINA award; the JAINA Ratna (Jewel): was presented to Mr. Dilip V. Shah of Philadelphia, PA for his outstanding commitment and dedication to JAINA for the past many decades.
Kudos: There were many firsts and unique highlights of this super-successful and magnum opus convention. Due to the complete on-line registration process which included Hotel Reservations as well, close to 4000 guests from all over the World, attended. In addition, the dutifully supported registration desk manned by super-courteous volunteers ensured a smooth and swift registration confirmation, processed within minutes. After registration, each member was given a leather look tote-bag with the Convention Souvenir, program schedule and paraphernalia in it. Each attendee received a personalized badge with the right demarcations in a plastic sleeve and a lapel holder to wear around the neck comfortably, throughout the 4 day event. Thanks to which, there were no security issues or gate crashing, no kids missing, no crossovers between regular attendees and the VIP etc. We are usually in awe of the Jewish Community and their lessons of assimilation with the mainstream. However, credit must also be given to the absolutely phenomenal BAPS’ Shayona. A core group of dedicated BAPS volunteers, including some from its Board, came suited with a tie, hat and plastic gloves and humbly served 3 different meals daily, offering Shayona’s fresh and delectably delicious food, with the Jain menu changed for each breakfast, lunch and dinner for all the 4000 attendees, including different meals for kids. They were able to serve and flush-out the entire crowd within 2 to 2.5 hours daily and without issues. The venue: the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) was not only splendid in space, décor, and management et al; but courteous as well. OMG: every single greeter at the food pavilion, security agents all over the place and management personnel; all greeted each and every one of the attendees with a gentle bow, smile and folded hands saying “Jai Jinendra”. It was incredible!

The Convention was completely pictorially covered by Bytegraph and the sound & lights by Sandeep Savla’s AV Creation’s added a great flavor. Bravo to the logistics Director and Convention Board Member, Vijay Kothari, for flawless management of the facilities, to Manish Shah for fantastic entertainment programs, to Madhu Sheth for securing Ambassador Young and Congressman Lewis as Honored Guests, to Deepak Shah and Sameer Shah for their vision, complete programming and titanic fundraising…..and kudos to the countless others (more than 300) who served the event with complete humility and pride, for the occasion to be a mighty success, which it certainly turned out to be!