AIA Celebrates – India 77th Independence Day in a grand way

Association of Indo American’s (AIA) & Bolly 92.3 presented “Swades” celebrating India’s 77^th Independence Day. It is supported by over 40 Indian organizations in Bay Area & attended by thousands of patriotic Indians.

One of the key mottos of Swades is to showcase and propagate Indian Culture and Art forms. Cultural programs Vijay Bharath – Grand musical entertainment, State dances & classical dances from various states. Over 400 kids participated in classical & film dances and competitons. AIA Rockstar singing contest was an instant hit. Carroms, Chess, Photo Graphy, Art & Essay writing competitions were conducted. AIA / EBK singers presented foot tapping songs. AIA Olympics involved running race, sack race & shotput etc. “Jana Gana Mana” largest synchronized chorus singing and 100 + ft Indian flag was one of the highlights of the Parade.

The flag-hoisting ceremony graced by notable dignitaries including Consul General of India (SFO) DR. T.V Nagendra Prasad attended as the chief guest. Other dignitaries include
Mayor Matt Mahan (City of San Jose), Mayor Lily Mei (City of Fremont),
Mayor Jeff Gee (Redwood City), Mayor Hung Wei (City of Cupertino),
Mayor Lisa Gillmor (City of Santa Clara) , Mayor Carmen Montano ( City of Milpitas)
Tom Pyke ( Office of Congressman Ro Khanna) , Tara Sreekrishnan (Senator Dave Cortese),
Assemblymember Ash Kalra (27th District), Anurag Pal-(Office of Assemblymember Alex Lee),
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (28th District)
Asst District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro ( Santa Clara)
Supervisor Cindy Chavez (County of Santa Clara)
Supervisor Otto Lee (County of Santa Clara)
Ajay Bhutoria, Advisor Member for Asian Pacific Islanders Commission
Vice Mayor Kevin Park (Santa Clara City Council)
San Jose Police Dept Officers (Lt. Muller, Ofc. Mir, Ofc. Giri, and others)
Councilmembers Raj Salwan (City of Fremont), Raj Chahal (Santa Clara City Council)
Murali Srinivasan (City of Sunnyvale), Arjun Batra (City of San Jose), Pranita Venkatesh (City of San Carlos), Domingo Candelas (City of San Jose),
Anu Nakka & Chris Norwood ( Milpitas School Board ), Raeena Lari (Santa Clara Board of Education) and various other elected officials graced the occasion.

Following the flag-hoisting and dignitaries addressed the gathering, conveyed their wishes to the 77^th India Independence and mentioned they are happy to see the patriotism and congratulated the AIA team for making it a memorable event.  Dr. T.V Nagendra Prasad mentioned, he is extremely happy to see representation from all states in India and congratulations AIA in preserving our heritage and culture.

Next to follow was live music concert by sensational singer Vidya Vox, she is very popular with teens and youth & they thoroughly enjoyed her songs. This was one of the highlights of the day.

AIA team thanked all the sponsors for their continued support and the volunteers for their hard work in making the event a grand success. Sanjiv Gupta CPA was the grand sponsor, Platinum sponsor was Nagaraj Annaiah, and other sponsors include ICICI bank and NBC BayArea.

The Association of Indo Americans is a non-profit organization providing a forum to explore the rich and diverse heritage of the Indian American community living in the United States. The mission of AIA is to foster and promote cultural and social interactions among its members, facilitate cultural events and educational programs pertaining to the Indian subcontinent, celebrate the diverse cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent and share this rich culture with the community.

List of AIA supporting organizations:

American Organization for Development of Bihar (AODB) 
Asha Jyothi Organization
Association of Rajasthan in America (Bay Area)
Bihar Foundation (USA – California Branch)
BATA  – Bay Area Telugu Association
BATM  – Bay Area Tamil Manram
Bay Malayali, Bihar Association
Brahma Kumaris
Dance Karishma
East Bay Karaoke
Federation of Malayalee Associations of Americas
Gujarati Cultural Association (GCA)
GOPIO (Global Organization of the People of Indian Origin)
ILP (India Literacy Project)
Indo American Society of Bay Area
IACF – Indo-American Community Federation
KKNC (kannada Koota of Northern California)
KTF Kashmiri Task Force
MANCA
NAIR SERVICE SOCIETY
OSA (California Chapter)
Paatasala (Telugu School)
PCA (Punjabi Cultural Association)
Rotary International
SRCA (San Ramon Cricket Association)
SEF (Sankara Eye Foundation)
Spandana organization
TANA (Telugu Association of North America)
TCA (Telangana Cultural Association)
TDF (Telangana Development Forum)
United Fiji Association
UPMA (Uttar Pradesh Mandal)
VEDA Temple
VPA (Vokkaliga Parishat of America)
VT Seva

Click here for Event Gallery