IACRF Seniors celebrate US Independence Day & Cultural ProgramsAuthor : Dr. Prakash V Kotecha
US Independence Day Celebration:
Natraj Bhadriraju conducted the US Independence Day Celebration Program. First part of the meeting was the US and India National Anthem played on a large screen and members paid their respect to the flags. After this Jon Banks presented in brief the history and significance of the US Independence struggle very nicely and in a summarized fashion. Dr. Pinakin Dave then explained the evolution of various stages of the US National Flag and history related to it with pictures and details. Natraj Bhadriraju described his arrival in 1975 at a young age and how he prospered in the US and how the US is the land of opportunity. Dr. Kanubhai Patel then described immigrants who became billionaires. Dr. Prakash Kotecha then offered a quiz on US Independence Day that included knowledge regarding US Intendance day and some interesting information about the 4th of July celebrations and members enjoyed these questions of the quiz.
Introduction of the new Priest at Ekta Mandir:
Jayeshbhai Pandya was introduced to the members as the new priest who joined Ekta Mandir. His wife Mitaben Pandya was also welcomed.
World Population Day:
11th July is celebrated as World Population Day and that has its origin in 1987 when on this day the World Population reached 5 billion. At present it is nearly 7.9 billion. Dr. Kotecha brought out some interesting facts related to Global Population as under:
India is going to exceed China in its population by 2024
The population chart in the year 2100 will list these largely populated countries!
India – 1.5 billion, China – 1 billion, Nigeria – 794 million, The United States – 447 million, Democratic Republic of Congo – 379 million, Pakistan – 352 million, Indonesia – 306 million, Tanzania – 304 million, Ethiopia – 250 million, Uganda – 214 million.
Presently, Tokyo is the largest populated city in the world followed by Delhi.
250 babies are born every minute in some part of the world adding to more than 130 million persons a year in world population.
More people in India speak English than in the UK!
Africa’s population is set to double between 2017 and 2050
Two-thirds of the population will live in cities by 2050 which is 50% at present
Cultural Program: Odissi Classical Dance:
The program of Odissi classical dance was brought to IACRF Seniors by the Padma School of Odissi. Odissi dance is an Indian classical dance from Odisha (previously known as Orissa). Total four dances were presented as under and were narrated by the teacher and lead person Ms. Rajul Shah.
Vasant Pallavi:
Aadya Subrahmanyam, Anvi Danpat, and Sanvi Chaudari performed this wonderful dance and won the hearts of everyone. Members applauded warmly these dancers first stage performance.
Sthayee:
Second, the mother daughter duo, Rashmi Menon and Shloka Nair, performed Sthayee. Sthayee was such a wonderful dance and members thoroughly enjoyed.
Hari Riha and Moskha:
Senior student Ameya Kartha performed two items. She began with Hari Riha, an abhinaya from the Gita Govinda that describes Krishna and his playful interactions dancing with the Gopis. Ameya concluded with Moksha, the dance of liberation.
Seniors enjoyed all these four classical dances to the fullest and applauded them a lot. IACRF Seniors offered a token of appreciation to all the participants. Dr. Pinakin Dave personally liked the dances so much and offered from his side each of the six dancers $25-00 each. Rajul Shah thanked the seniors for providing the opportunity to perform after a long break due to covid pandemic.
Recognition of Manhar Khatri
Manhar Khatri and his wife Manjula Khatri were honored for joining as member in the board of Trustee of IACRF. Manhar Khatri and Manjula Khatri were invited on the dais and were congratulated by members and trustees present in the meeting.
Obituary:
Dr. Ramanbhai Bhavsar and Mrs. Shakuntala Verma passed away this month. Dr. Bhavsar passed away on 13th July while Mrs. Verma passed away earlier on 11th July. Dr. Ramanbhai was such a friendly, ever smiling face and every member present had an individual connection with him. He was a philosopher and a poet besides being a physician. He was cheerful always and everyone will miss his company for all the time to come. He was 88 years old. Mrs. Shakuntala was 72 years. Members offered their prayers for the departed soul and observed silence for one minute in the prayers.
Lunch Sponsors for the month:
Lunch sponsors for the month included Kishorbhai Vyas and Taraben Patel, Arvindbhai and Nilaben Shah, Rajni and Munnu Bajpai along with Mahesh and Darshan Diwan and Dr. Prakash & Meena Kotecha. | |