“Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” Celebrated by Southern California Community

India-West Staff Reporter

CERRITOS, CA – The Indian American community in Southern California planned and executed a grand celebration on Jan.22of,“Azadika Amrit Mahotsav/72nd Republic Day of India” at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts,here.

The program started with the traditional lamp lighting by dignitaries, and India@75 committee team headed by its chairman, Kewal Kanda.

Thechief guest and keynote speaker for this celebration wasthe consulgeneral of India, Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad who thanked the team for planning and celebrating four events as part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” an initiative started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioning 75 weeks of celebration to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.

The guests of honor were Harry Sidhu, mayor of Anaheim; Captain Minh Dim, police chief of the city of Cerritos; andAvadhesh Agarwal, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

The event focused on “Vibrant India” providing the audience with information on the achievements of India, providing information on India’s glorious past, present developments, and promising future.

There was a “Unity March” by the youth, and an excellent presentation by the youth on why India is poised to be a superpower in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, education, and renewable sources of energy. The team put together an amazing slide show with narration to showcase all this.

There were also several performances representing all the states of India, showcasing the food, festivals, their rich biodiversity, flora and fauna.
It was announced that The India@75 committee of over 40 volunteers has planned four events to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence. Following last year’s independence day event, the Republic day celebrations marked the second. The remaining two are Baisakhi celebration in April for which the theme is “Triumph over evil” and the final on Aug.6, 2022 under the banner, “India the next superpower.”

Secretary Rani Kuusto and joint secretary Hark Vasa of India@75 teamthankedall for their support. Sponsors were also recognized: Avadhesh& Uma Agarwal, Ashok& Manju Madan,Harkishan& Kusum Vasa, Arvind and Jayshree Mehta, DesaiDiversified Investments, Lata Ahir ofWest Shore Realty, and State Bank of India (California).