11th India Day Parade celebrates ancestral homeland’s 75th birthday in Hicksville, N.Y.
Originally published in
News India Times
The landmark 75th anniversary of India’s Independence (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) was celebrated at the 11th India Day Parade of Long Island August 7, 2022, as a large crowd assembled at the Hicksville Community Center, the starting point of the parade.
Organized by IDP USA ,currently led by President Vimal Goyal and Vice Chair Mukesh Modi, the parade featured several floats and marching groups.
Patriotic songs along with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and ‘Jai Hind’ rang out in the air, as people waved India’s flag, a press release from IDP USA said.
The parade culminated near the Hicksville Post Office, where an entertainment stage and 30 booths welcomed India lovers with various products and activities.
India’s Deputy Consul General in New York, Dr Varun Jeph, was the Grand Marshal. He urged people to display Tricolor in their homes.
Film and sports star Prachi Tehlan, the Celebrity Grand Marshal, said she was impressed by the love of India shown by people here which surpassed that at home.
Well known playback singer Shibani Kashyap, Hollywood/ Bollywood actor and writer Prashantt Guptha, born and brought up in New York, as well as Naveen Shah of Navika Capital Group, were Guests of Honor.
Elected officials who spoke included Supervisor of Town of North Hempstead Jennifer DeSena, New York State Senators Kevin Thomas and Anna Kaplan, and Nassau County legislator Rose Walker.
Proclamations and citations from Nassau County and Town of Oyster Bay were presented by their representatives.
Bobby Kalotee, founder of IDP, and Chairperson Indu Jaiswal welcomed and thanked dignitaries and celebrities for their presence. Vice Chair of IDP Mukesh Modi emceed the proceedings.
President Goyal explaining the IDP themes of the year – ‘Each One Plant One’ and ‘Unity in Diversity’– said it was for the first time that banners of all 28 Indian states were displayed at the parade.
Shibani Kashyap sang patriotic songs and her own hit numbers making people dance to her tunes. Many dance groups, most of them coached by Shilpa Mithaiwala, also performed.
Announcement of winners of raffle prizes, including a return ticket to India, concluded the program.
A day before the parade the 3 celebrities, Tehlan, Guptha, and Kashyap, were welcomed at a meet and greet.
The main sponsors of the parade included JP Morgan Chase & Co, Omega Storage, Navika Capital Group, Flushing Bank, Vass Pipe & Steel Co, Patel Brothers, Indie Films World, Hum Hindustani and Beena Kothari.
President Goyal and Vice Chair Modi thanked team members Venus Bhasin (Bobby), Mayur Parekh, Pradeep Tandon, Nimesh Shah, Mitesh Parikh, Neeru Bhambri, Kishore Malik, Sagar Shah, Ashwini Sharma, Shilpa Mithaiwala, Sandhya Bhatia, Purvi Shah, Roopam Maini and Vijay Goswamy. They also thanked all sponsors, vendors, marching group, media, volunteers and the entire IDP Team.
Modi gave special thanks to Town of Oyster Bay’s Supervisor Joseph Saladino, James McCaffrey, Brian Nevin and Harry Malhotra, as well as Traffic & Safety – County Police Department Precinct 2, County Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder, NYS Department of Transportation, Region 10 (Long Island), State Department of Transportation Highway Work Permit for their unconditional support, permits and security.
