“Aaj ki sham Aap ke naam”
An evening in Atlanta
 in honor of Ambassador Rao!

By Mahadev Desai
Pics.by Kiran Mudigonda of Bytegraph

A diverse cross-section of Indian-American communities representing over eighty diverse professional, business, religious and cultural Associations of Georgia gave a red carpet welcome to India’s Ambassador H.E. Nirupama Rao on her maiden visit to Georgia. The Consul General of India in Atlanta, Hon. Ajit Kumar, and Mrs. Margret Kumar accompanied her to the glitzy Banquet reception at the Ashiana Restaurant on Saturday evening of March 3. The Banquet showcased over 200 who's who community leaders of the Indian American Community at the festive and beautifully decorated Ashiana banquet hall at the Global Mall.

Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos, City of Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, Hon.Vinay Kwatra, Minister of Commerce, Embassy of India, Greg Pridgeon, Chief of Staff of Rockdale County, Emory Morsberger, Developer/CID, Gwinnett County and his wife Janet Morsberger and numerous dignitaries ordained the list of distinguished guests and electrified the banquet reception with their august presence.

Ambassador Nirupama Rao and the distinguished guests were greeted with a rousing welcome as they took their seats. The Gandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA) Chairman and the Master of Ceremony of the evening, Subash Razdan, a well-known national leader, welcomed the gathering, dazzling the guests with charisma, humor and intimate rapport with and the knowledge of the Georgia community.
 

Homage at the Statue  (Pic. by Lucie Thaliath Devassy)

Dedicating and setting the tone for the evening in honor of Ambassador Nirupama Rao with a shairs/poems, “Aaj ki Shaam Aapke Naam”, Razdan requested the well-known community members Dr. Dilip Patel (President of GAPI), Anu Kathuria of Ashiana, Ujjagar Singh Wassan, Hemant Patel (Chairman of AAHOA), Dr. Meena Shah and Pravina Shah, Mrs. Anushi Aggarwal to stand together near the stage in a pageantry and take turns to present the dignitaries with welcome bouquets.

Ujjagar Singh Wassan, a noted artist, who had the distinct honor to be the only Indian among about 50 artists from Atlanta selected to paint a portion (with Gandhi’s panel) of the majestic 1250 sq. ft. mural for the MLK Center, regaled Ambassador Rao and the audience with Shairs/poems befitting the occasion.

"Wo hein joe doob gaye majudhar mein sahara dhoond te huye,
Hamein toe saharon ne daboya kinare pe lake."
"Yadein toe mazi ki amanat hain, inhe waqt ke damon becha na kijiaye"

The Indian American Cultural Association (IACA) President Kaushal Tripathi welcomed the gathering providing a brief history of IACA, which founded in 1972, is now a robust Organization with membership representing entire diverse Indian community from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Georgia.

Greg Pridgeon, Chief of Staff to Rockdale County and GFUSA Vice-Chairman, welcomed Ambassador Rao stating, “ This morning we had the honor to meet with you at the King Historic District, when you said how blessed you were to visit the MLK hallowed grounds and I had responded, ‘your presence makes it more hallowed.’ We are happy to have you here. The Indian American community is a rich thread in the tapestry of a dynamic and wonderful City of Atlanta, welcoming people from all over the world. And to the Consul General, thank you for being here! You have lot of work to do but we will work hand in hand with you. And to our Ambassador, you have lot of work to do around the United States but you won’t find a better community to work with and get support from.” (applause).
 

Laying wreath at the King Crypts

Razdan lauded the presence of leading representatives of over 80 Organizations. He said this was an opportune time to draw their attention to the spate of sad and shocking news of accidental deaths, shootings, violent home-invasions the community has been experiencing of late. In some cases families and friends of victims were helpless without funds to help them. Razdan informed the gathering that Gujarat Samaj has initiated a fund to help with memorial and funeral expenses in needy cases and appealed each Association to pledge a minimum donation of $50.The community’s support to his appeal was overwhelming. Razdan, who saw Jewish Community as a role model, also suggested launching of another fund for Legal Defense for our community issues.

Mayor Eva Galambos of Sandy Springs noted the immense contribution of the Indian American community in varied sectors of the economy and her appreciation of its role in enrichment of Georgia. “It is appropriate that we now have an Indian Consulate in Atlanta. To help expand the community’s participation and role this morning I have spoken to the Congressman to improve the method and quicken the visas for visitors from India. “(Applause)

Razdan informed that in 1983, IACA leaders initiated the close connection between Gandhi and King through celebration of King’s birthday  as well as Gandhi’s birthday at the MLK Center with the help of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, . In 1987, the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King refurbished Gandhi Room in Freedom Hall at the King Center under her direct supervision. In 1992 National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA) tried in vain to name a street after Gandhi. Subsequently with the help of Greg Pridgeon and former Mayor Maynard Jackson the seeds for installation of Gandhi Statue were sown. The Gandhi statue, facilitated by the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) along with partner organizations and donated by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) /Embassy of India, was installed and dedicated at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site on January 24, 1998 by former Ambassador Andrew Young, the late Giriraj Rao, The National Parks Service and many others. The Gandhi Statue and the joint celebrations of King and Gandhi’s birthdays etc. have forged a close bond of solidarity between our two communities. Razdan also noted the humanitarian efforts by the community citing help extended during the Andhra Pradesh cyclone, earthquake in Latur, Bhopal tragedy, Kargil war victims, etc.
 

Prominent Community Leaders waiting to greet Ambassador at the banquet

In his brief remarks, the City of Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson said, “It is wonderful to have you all in my city tonight and I extend you my gracious welcome. Shiv Aggarwal who invited me here is not only the owner of the premier South Asian Global Mall in North America but also Chairman of Gwinnett Village C.I.D. and is doing fantastic work for the community. We consider our City, as an international gateway in a tapestry that is created together with the Indian community and it is wonderful to behold and be part of. Let us strive to work together to make it even better. We are indeed blessed to have the Indian Consulate here and also to have Ambassador Rao visiting our city.”

Wassan once again humored the audience with an anecdote about poet Lord Byron’s love for wine. In an essay competition, while his classmates wrote long essays on wine, young Byron wrote only one sentence in praise of wine,” Water saw her master and blushed”. (Laughter).

Razdan jazzed up the program by lauding the outstanding accomplishments and achievements of the Indian American Community in the US, which has excelled diverse fields; “I can go on and on. Our credentials rank on top of the world, undoubtedly. Let’s 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 exemplary figures 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 Shiv Aggarwal; Ashiana Restaurant owner Zahid Chaudhury. He noted that Georgia has provided many national leaders to the Diaspora such as Past Chairmen of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) Harish Patni, Mike Patel, C. K. Patel, and Nitin Shah; Krishna Srinivasa (IAFPE) and Subash Razdan (NFIA). In expanding business sector, Ram Sidhaye, a pioneer had the vision to start the first Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) in Atlanta in early nineties; followed by the Asian American Chamber of Commerce co-founded by Subash Razdan and GA-Indo American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC) by Ani Agnihotri.

Hon. Ajit Kumar began his introduction of Ambassador Rao, with effusive words, “aap aye, bahaar ayee” and continued, “Mrs. Rao, after earning her M.A. in English Literature, joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973.In a diplomatic career spanning over three decades, she has served in Washington, Beijing, and Moscow, to name a few. She has served as India’s first woman ambassador to China from 2006 to 2009.She assumed her responsibilities as Ambassador of India to the United States in September 2011. Ambassador Rao is married to Sudhakar Rao, a distinguished civil servant. She is fond of art, literature and music. She has also written a book of poems.”

Following the introduction, the audience was treated to a slide show of pictures of Mrs. Rao interacting with leaders and politicians in the U.S.
 

With Sponsors Touchmark Bank, Embassy Bank and Gwinnett Clinic

It was then Atlanta poetess Sadaf Farooqui’s turn to recite her shairi. After extending her warm welcome to Mrs. Rao, she said, that she had an appropriate sher befitting the occasion;
“ Na mausam tha, na fursaat thi, magar mein rook nahi payee, bulaya aapne to mein chali aayee.
Magar ye mat samajh lena ke khali haath aai hoon, hei jitna husn ees
basti mein utna ishq layee hoon.
The English translation of the above is: "It is my privilege to come and visit your lovely State despite my busy schedule and of course the weather and I am indeed thankful for the warm hospitality and beauty of the heart of the people of Atlanta.”
She added, “Jitne haseen log hei utna haseen shehr hei.” (Atlanta is as pretty /noble as its residents).”

Razdan informed the gathering that Ambassador Rao’s visits to Atlanta have proved lucky for the community. Her previous visit with the then Ambassador Ray helped initiate the Delta flights to India. Razdan requested Mrs. Rao to persuade Delta to resume its non-stop flights to India. He also appealed to her to help set up Gandhi Center in the Peace Triangle in downtown Atlanta.

Sponsor-UCB

Now it was time for which everyone had been eagerly waiting. In her insightful, compelling, keynote address, delivered in crisp, smooth flow, Ambassador Nirupama Rao complimented Ujjagarji’s and Sadaf’s eloquent poems, and recited her own two poetic lines, “Coming back to Atlanta and seeing the old familiar faces, surrounded by such love and friendship, I feel I’ve come home” and then continued, “It is indeed a pleasure for me to come back to Atlanta after seventeen long years. During 1990 I had been to MLK Center. So to go there this morning and renew my friendship with those associated with the Center and to pay my respects and homage to the Statue of Mahatma Gandhiji and also to pay my respect to the memory of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta King was very special for me. King Center represents a very special bond between India and the U.S. Dr. King was inspired by the ideals, by the life, and by the works of Mahatma Gandhi in his very own epic journey during the Civil Rights Movement… There is so much that brings us together. Indeed U.S. as world’s oldest democracy and India as world’s largest democracy are meant to be friends and partners. We want to work together to build a relationship based on innovation, spirit of inquiry, development of technologies, for all this will make a difference to the lives of our people. Your pioneering efforts have brought India into many homes into this country. India is a complex country but the fact that we have 3 million Indian-Americans in this country has enabled America to understand India better. …Indian-American community has kept alive the traditions of India wherever they have gone but they have also blended, adapted and merged with the environment here, which is what makes India so unique. And you are uniquely Indian but you are American also. The blend is beautiful. …The strategic partnership between U.S. and India has many pillars to it and all of you have a role to play when we talk of cooperation in diverse fields. It is a two-way mutually inclusive process that helps both countries.”
Mrs. Rao congratulated the Organizers of the reception adding she has known Razdan for many years and commended him for his great contribution to the life of Indian American community in U.S. and for his love of India.(applause)

With Community Leaders

She continued, “Consul General Ajit Kumar comes to Atlanta as a very distinguished diplomat and if you look at his vast experience, we could not have sent you anybody better, anybody more qualified and anybody who has such a capacity to deal with all of the issues that concern you today to be of assistance and support to you, so please give him all the support that he needs also because he deserves it and the Consulate deserves it and we are there to serve you.” (Applause).
On a personal note, she expressed her thanks for the warm Southern hospitality, saying, “I am proud to claim to be a Southerner also as I was born in deep South, in Kerala, India! It has been a beautiful evening with a lot of poetry. I loved the quote from Lord Byron about wine. I don’t drink it myself but the words were quite intoxicating (Laughter). I look forward to coming back again to Atlanta. I read about Atlanta and also’ Gone with the wind’. Thank you all for coming here today and thank you for the welcome you have given me.”(Standing ovation)

Razdan thanked all for their presence at the reception. He further thanked Ajit Kumar and the Consulate staff in helping with the Reception invitations and the Guest List; the sponsors Embassy National Bank, Touchmark National Bank, United Central Bank, Ashiana Restaurant, Global Mall, Gwinnett Clinic, and Davis Printing; the media; professional videographers, photographers, audio and stage setup and decorations.
 

Ambassador receiving key to the City of Sandy Springs from Mayor Eva Galambos

After the dinner, Ambassador Nirupama Rao cheerfully mingled with the guests and posed for pictures with them with abundance of smiles, patience and humility.

Earlier on Friday and Saturday, Ambassador attended a business meeting of senior business executives at the United Parcel Service (UPS), organized by the Kettering Executive Network (KEN). The Mayor of Sandy Springs, Dr. Eva Galambos presented the Key to the City to the Ambassador. She also delivered the Keynote Address at the prestigious India Summit on ‘India-US Strategic Relations’ focusing on the role of innovation and science and technology. Ambassador Rao met Congressman Thomas E. Price and Congressman Hank Johnson and exchanged views on several issues of bilateral, regional and global interest from the perspective of the India-U.S. partnership. On Saturday morning, she paid Homage and garlanded the Gandhi Statue, laid the wreath at the Martin Luther King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King Crypts, visited the Gandhi Room at the Freedom Hall in King Center,

“What a lovely and inclusive evening reception to Welcome H.E. Nirupama Rao for her first visit to Atlanta as an Ambassador of India. gather on a lovely evening!” exclaimed one of the many community leaders present.