Amb.Meera Shankar, Ajay Shankar with Subash and Raj Razdan  arriving at the King Historic Site

Ambassador Meera Shankar accompanied by Ajay Shankar, Councilman Kwanza Hall, Elder Bernice King, , Consul General Arora, Vice Consul Azad and members of GFUSA pay homage at the King Crypts at the King Center

Ambassador Meera Shankar and her husband Ajay Shankar were greeted with a rousing welcome as they took their seats. The Gandhi Foundation of USA Chairman and the Master of Ceremony of the evening, Subash Razdan, a well-known national leader and a darling of the community, welcomed the gathering, dazzling the guests with charisma, humor and intimate rapport with the community. Recognizing the Guest of Honor, Ambassador Meera Shankar, he added jovially, “The sugar coating for us Georgians tonight is that India’s Ambassador is accompanied by her husband Ajay Shankar, who himself has had a distinguished career in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India.”
 

NPS Supdt. Judy Forte, Elder Bernice King, Ambassador Shankar and Councilman Kwanza Hall pay homage to Gandhi at the King Historic Site

Well-known community members Nina Kathuria, Raj Razdan, Meenu Sharma, Anu Kathuria, Sneha Mehta, Alka Patel, Rita Kathuria and Indira Balakrishnan stood together near the stage as if in a pageantry and took turns, elegantly walking to each of the dignitary, greeting and presenting them with welcome bouquets.

Razdan also took this opportunity to remind and thank Ambassador Shankar of her support of the month long “Sari Unveiled” exhibition organized by Raj Razdan for the Atlanta International Museum at Marriott Marquis in Downtown Atlanta in the mid-nineties when the Ambassador had served as the Minister of Commerce for the Embassy of India.


CEO of Global Mall, Entrepreneur and philanthropist, Shiv Agarwal in his welcome address said he felt overwhelmed that the Ambassador and Ajay Shankar had graced the Global Mall with their presence and thanked all the dignitaries for attending this reception at such a short notice in honor of India’s Ambassador.
 

Staff member of Congressman, Congressman John Lewis, Ajay Shankar, Ambassador Meera Shankar, Anushi Agarwal, Raj Razdan and co-host Shiv Agarwal enjoy the lighter moments of the Banquet

Now it was show time with Sher-o-shairee! “Poetry is a picture painted with words and a painting is a poetry written with a brush” cheered Ujjagar Singh Wassan, representing the Sikh community. Ujjagar, a noted artist, who has also painted a portion of the majestic 250-sq.ft mural at the King Historic site, regaled the audience with a recital of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s (last Muslim ruler of India) and a few other ghazals which regaled the chief guest Shankar as well as the attendees.

Razdan introduced Dr. King’s daughter Bernice King known as one of the most motivating orators and speakers in the world. He added, “The King Family has been a great friend of the Indian community and has played a pivotal role in forging Gandhi-King bond.”

Pageantry of prominent community members ready to present bouquets to the dignitaries at the Banquet

Elder Bernice King expressed her wholehearted gratitude to the Ambassador for her first visit to the King Center. “Your visit certainly strengthens the bond of solidarity between India and the USA and especially those of us who share the abiding reverence for the great legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and my father Dr. King. I felt privileged to welcome you to the King Crypts earlier today where you paid homage to my parents. Indian community here has enriched our culture and strongly supported the legacy of Dr. King. Atlanta shares a special spiritual bond with India as a result of the great impact of Gandhi’s teachings on my father. In African-American homes, you generally find two portraits of American leaders-one of President John Kennedy and the other of Dr. M L King Jr. But in our home, we were graced with the portrait of Gandhi in our dining room. Gandhi was the source of inspiration for the African-American’s freedom struggle”, she exclaimed. Continuing, she added, “The Gandhi legacy lives on at the King Center. My mother insisted that Gandhi’s birthday be formally commemorated at the King Center every year. (applause) .The King Center also has a Gandhi Room and we have all seen a majestic Statue of Gandhi adorning the Historic Site, So let us create a new global community where freedom, justice, and human rights, for all people will indeed reign supreme’ (standing ovation)

Introducing the Congressman, Razdan said, “Congressman John Lewis is a great friend of the Indian American community and also a recipient of the Gandhi Peace prize from the Gandhi Foundation of USA. A firm believer in non-violence, Lewis has worked tirelessly for the cause of social justice and played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement and has dedicated his life in building what he calls ‘Beloved Community’. He is well known and respected for his dedication to the highest ethical and moral principles.”

In his resounding remarks , Congressman Lewis recounted humiliating segregation experiences when growing up in Tennessee, while in schools, in sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, while participating in Freedom Rides, and of beatings, arrests and jail by police during marches for justice and racial equality. He narrated about his visit to India together with MLK III and how he was touched seeing a little child in India learning about non-violence at such an early formative age.

Razdan jazzed up the program by lauding the outstanding accomplishments and achievements of the Indian American Community in the US, which has excelled as prominent academicians, engineers, doctors, as college Graduates in diverse fields; and more. “I can go on and on. Our credentials rank on top of the world, undoubtedly. Lets be proud of our accomplishments and our rich heritage and be it recorded that the best of our community is represented here”(applause). He showcased the community by recognizing, a few amidst many including, University of West Georgia, President Dr. Beheruz Sethna; Emory University Prof. of Marketing, acclaimed speaker and author, Dr. Jagdish Seth; Global Mall CEO and philanthropist Shiv Agarwal; Ashiana Restaurant owner Zahid for his magnanimity in sponsoring this banquet; Past Chairman of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) Mike Patel and incoming Chairman, C. K. Patel; Swadesh Katoch who has been helping Bhutanese refugees in Atlanta with selfless service; First Asian Indian Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Younis Farhat for co-hosting an historic Banquet for the large Indian contingent for the 1996 Olympics; Rifka Mayani for her Bharat Natyam dance at the Sari Unveiled exhibition over a decade ago; Ram Sidhaye, a pioneer who had the vision to start the first Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) in Atlanta in early nineties; and Dhiru Shah for their dedicated service to the community as well as in ensuring the success of the Banquet . Razdan, a Democrat himself, jovially teased well-known and respected Republican fundraiser and a community leader in Atlanta, Narender Reddy for not succeeding in getting the Republican legislators to author King-Gandhi legislation while a Democrat Congressman Lewis strived to do so. On another occasion, he recognized Doug Shipman who is married to a Gujarati, quipping that when Shipman was posted in Church gate area in Mumbai, he had to fork out Rs.40 for tasty dosas at Satkar restaurant whereas Razdan relished them for 75 paisas in the late sixties! Razdan apologized that the list of community-achievers was so large, that it would take him all night if he were to recognize them all and the show had to go on!
 

Elder Bernice King and Doug Shipman of NCCHR with a section of the Who's Who of the Atlanta audience.

Delighted at the success of the banquet, Consul General Sanjiv Arora got swinging with his own shairee about Gandhi, “Log kehte hain, zamaana badalta hain aksar, par shaks woh hain jo zamaane ko badal dete hain (People say times keep changing but true leaders are those who change the times”(applause). He was jubilant about his past visits to Atlanta adding that his most overwhelming experience with respect to his jurisdiction of Atlanta was accompanying the Chief Justice of India, Justice K G Balakrishnan to the King Center on 4th April last year, on the solemn occasion of 41st anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination where he got to interact with all the family members of Dr. King. (applause). “Tonight’s gathering here is as broad based as one could envisage for this special evening in honor of Ambassador Meera Shankar and Ajay Shankar and it is a great privilege to join all of you here in welcoming them on their first visit to Atlanta,” he concluded

If Urdu was for shairee, Atlanta’s talented senior Hindi poetess Kusum Sinha was not going to be left behind. Even after misplacing her reading glasses, she recited an uplifting poem on “Mahatma Gandhi” in Hindi, which she had written to mark the occasion of his birthday on 2nd October. . (applause).

Finally it was time for which everyone had been eagerly waiting. In her insightful, compelling, keynote address, delivered in crisp, smooth flow, Ambassador Shankar said, “It is wonderful to see leaders of over 60 diverse Associations who have come together this evening in a spirit of community. As I look around, I see people from various parts of India reflecting India’s diversity. India has been fortunate to have great visionary leaders who gave people a strong belief in human values, human freedom and in social uplifting.” She cited statistics to convey the complete stagnation in India due to colonial rule, particularly during fifty years before India’s independence. “To remove inequities, poverty and chronic under development, Indian State undertook its audacious experiment in its first and widest ‘affirmative action’ program which was constitutionally mandated. The result has been a huge broadening of democracy. Today we have a wonderful exchange of ideas between India and America and particularly the Gandhi-King connection. For the world as a whole, Gandhi has enormous relevance. And we have seen in India the incredible resurgence of interest in Gandhi with the film called ‘Lage raho Munnabhai” (Laughter) which has greatly appealed to the young generation. Its message that Gandhigiri (practicing Gandhi’s methods of non-violence) is far more effective than Dadagiri (bully and violence) has a great impact. Indian American community has become a very vital bridge between our two countries The community has youth, entrepreneurial spirit, the values it imbibed in India, its adaptability and acceptance of diversity, its hard work and of course the opportunity that America has provided to hone their talents! With all this, the community must give back to India as well as to the adopted land,” she concluded to a standing ovation.

 

Memorable moments at the Banquet

In his formal Vote of Thanks, Dhiru Shah, a graduate of London school of Economics and Harvard, thanked everyone who helped make the Banquet an unforgettable night! He thanked the distinguished guests for gracing the banquet and honoring the community on their maiden visit to Atlanta. He thanked all the community leaders in attendance for the show of solidarity.. He acknowledged with thanks the support of the co-sponsors; Global Mall, Ashiana Restaurant, Kingfisher airlines, Sanjay Pandya of Davis Printing and over 60 Community organizations of Georgia, volunteers, professional video and photographers Vinod Devlia and Bharat Kotecha and all those who helped with audio, stage set up and decorations. Numerous members of media, to include some; India Tribune, Namaste Bombay TV, Khabar, Atlanta Dunia, NRI Pulse, TV Asia, CNN ,who had thronged to the event not only to cover the event but also to extend their warm welcome and respect to the Ambassador, were also acknowledged.
 

Section of the audience enjoying humor

After the dinner, Ambassador Meera Shankar cheerfully mingled with the guests and posed for pictures with them and signed autographs with abundance of smiles.

One of the organizers of the Banquet mentioned that the special guests, Congressman Lewis and Elder Bernice King had attended the event, after an assurance that they would be allowed to depart within 30-40 minutes of their arrival. But they were found entertaining themselves with the community, voluntarily, almost till the close of the event. Such was the camaraderie that, one of the community leaders, remarked that it was heart warming to see so many diverse leaders of our community in one Banquet hall.

This Banquet provided an opportunity for Georgia's Indian Americans and civic communities to welcome and honor the Indian officials for their role in building valuable relationships between Georgia and India.

This was a great effort to bring the community together on a lovely evening!

Earlier on Friday, the Ambassador had attended a business luncheon hosted by Georgia Indo American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC), an interview with the CNN, courtesy Sonia Tucker of CNN and paid a Homage at the Gandhi Statue and at the Martin Luther King Crypts, and visited the Gandhi Room where Elder Bernice King and Councilman Kwanzaa Hall exchanged pleasantries and gifts with the Ambassador Meera Shankar. Next day on Saturday, Ambassador met with select faculty members of the University of Georgia in Athens and where she later inaugurated the Gardens of the World Ball.