Greetings!
We wish all our readers a Very Happy New Year as we welcome in 2023. The past year was an eventful one with the ISW India Center in full use with an event almost every weekend and many weekdays too. The playgrounds with the Volleyball and Pickleball courts and the children's play area were opened this summer and helped launch the new and very popular ISW Sports initiative. The ISW Gala in the fall, headlined by Sudesh Bhosle, who kept the crowd on its feet dancing, helped raise a record amount to support the India Center expansion.
On behalf of my board, we thank you for your support in 2022 and look forward to seeing you at a future ISW event or at our ISW India Center. Please enjoy this review edition of the newsletter that summarizes some of the key activities and events of 2022 and the January 2023 events.
Thanks
Puneet Kohli
President, ISW
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ISW India Day returns to DCU Center in 2022 |
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ISW Annual General Body Meeting
January 29th, 2023, 2:00 to 5:00 pm
ISW India Center, 152 Main Street, Shrewsbury
The ISW Executive Board and ISW Governance Committee is pleased to announce the upcoming General Body Meeting to be held on Sunday January 29th 2023 at 2:00 PM at the India Center, 152 Main St, Shrewsbury, MA 01545. The ISW Executive Board along with the supporting sub committees will share the annual report with the General Body present. All ISW members are requested to please attend. Please note that in order to vote you need to be dues paying member as of December 1st, 2022. Please register prior to the meeting.
The ISW Nomination Committee will be sharing the slate of candidates for the ISW Executive Board, the Governance Committee and the open position on the Nomination Committee shortly.
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January 12th, 2023 7:00 to 8:30 pm
ISW India Center
Learn how to use decoupage to decorate objects, No experience needed, ages 12+. Members $20, Non-members $35. Click here to register.
ISW PEN: Real Estate Investing 101 - Why and How
January 14th, 2023, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
ISW India Center
Have you ever wondered if you should get into real estate investing but never knew how to get started? Hear from investors and realtors about their experiences. Panelists include: Jamie Patel, Karen Landry, Abhas Jain, Mani and moderated by Arathi Cowlagi. FREE Click here to register.
ISWU Heartfulness Relaxation Yoga & Meditation, Introductory Session
January 14th, 2023 9:00 to 10:00 am
ISW India Center
Register for introductory session. Agenda includes: Cyclic Yoga, Introduction to Heartfulness, Instant Relaxation & Meditation followed by Q&A and light snacks. Classes will continue in 2023 based on interest and ISW Hall availability.
ISW Sports: Monthly Family Games Night
January 20th, 2023 6:30 to 10:00 pm
ISW India Center
Join us for a fun family night of Carrom, Cards, Chess and more. Bring your own games or join one of the groups. After a well attended evening in December, ISW Sports will be hosting this on a monthly basis at the India center. Member only, please register here.
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ISW WEW: Celebrating Women Empowering Women Initiative
January 21st, 2023 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
ISW India Center, 152 Main St. Shrewsbury
Celebrating Two years of ISW Women Empowering Women with a special guest speaker, Manju Sheth Physician, President INE Multimedia, Founder Women Who Win, Creator of Chai with Manju & NECA Awards, Director of Woman of the Year Awards. Click here to register.
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ISW 2022 - A YEAR IN REVIEW |
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2022 saw ISW returning to familiar venues with some of its well known events and a few new ones. Highlighting the year was the ISW Gala that brought over 250 supporters to the fabulous Mechanics Hall to hear Sudesh Bhosle accompanied by a superb group of musicians. Thanks to your support, ISW was able to raise over $425,000 and the India Center expansion shortfall is now less than $120,000. ISW's marquee event, India Day, returned to the DCU Center for an afternoon of scintillating performance and delicious food entertaining thousands from the Greater Worcester Community. The year wrapped up with ISW celebrating Diwali not once, not twice, but at four major in-person events and ISW volunteers also brought the message of Diwali to Northborough and Westborough towns.
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ISW celebrates Diwali in style |
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Other ISW activities included
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Humrahee, a dynamic group of young at heart over 55 seniors, that meet monthly to socialize, play board games, sing karaoke and listen to invited speakers on a range of subjects from laughing and chair yoga to health living.
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Health Stop continued on its pre-covid schedule, in person at India Center.
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Hasya Kavi Sammelan a return of the perennial visit of poets from India with their satiric and humorous take on life.
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ISW Garba Nights that filled the packed halls with music and whirling circles of dancers into the late nights.
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Five nights commemorating Durga Puja held at the India Center that included singers from the Berklee School of Music.
For the first time ISW held a Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Night with a dinner and an evening of entertainment by local artiste and comic, Preetesh Shrivastav and music by Phil Scarff and his Natraj musical ensemble.
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HUMRAHEE SENIORS MONTHLY MEETING |
DURGA PUJA AND GARBA NIGHTS @ISW |
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DONOR & VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NIGHT |
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ISW UNIVERSITY
ISW University offered a range of classes to cater to all ages from 3D Printing to SAT prep, from Product Innovation to Beginning Chess, yoga and mediation as well as individualized tutoring.
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ISW WEW - WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN
ISW WEW held four very successful panels that drew engaged audiences with topics ranging from the Art of Self Portrayal to sharing immigrant experiences and adjusting to new cultures at work and in community.
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ISW SYMPHONY
ISW SYMPHONY's Dhol Tasha Lezim Group continued to be in demand, performing at Faneuil Hall and various venues. The Fine Arts Festival celebrated crafts, culture and cuisine with demonstrations, performances and contests for all ages.
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ISW PEN - PROFESSIONAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORK
Over 200 attendees participated in 7 different events that ranged from panels on Starting a Business to Estate Planning, from a Resume Workshop that led to a job offer, to a Leadership Workshop by a published author.
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ISW CULTURAL & LANGUAGE SCHOOL
ISW School was back in full swing with 120 students in 23 sessions offering 6 languages. A number of interesting cultural activities were carried out during common assembly.
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ISW SPORT
ISW Sport the latest initiative was launched this summer with the inauguration of the Pickleball and Volleyball courts. The courts were an immediate hit in the summer. Family Games nights was launched in December that brought together families with chess, carrom, cards and other games.
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ISW Student Awards
Academic Awards: Arnav Mishra, Sumer Shinde
Citizenship Awards: Tanvi Gahlot, Aarya Virmani
India New England 20 under 20
Krish Bhuva, Shrewsbury High School
Kunal Chauhan, Shrewsbury High School
Prisha Nair, Oak Middle School
Aanya Sachdeva, Shrewsbury High School
We also congratulate Aryan Kumar was selected to represent Massachusetts as the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholar.
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ISW Mourned the passing of two great supporters of ISW in 2022:
Subash Gupta was actively engaged in a variety of community societies including India Society of Worcester, United India, and VHP passed away in April 2022.
Shobha Shastry, a staunch ISW supporter and life member, who touched people far and wide with her selfless service to the community passed away in March 2022. She is fondly remembered and missed by the ISW Community.
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President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)
This year ISW, as a certifying organization for the PVSA, recognized seven individuals for their service to community. The PVSA recognizes the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. The list of awardees were:
- Tanushree Nakenti, Bronze
- Shivangi Das Gupta, Bronze
- Abhiram Singh, Bronze
- Prachet Mahawar, Silver
- Aadi Dixit, Gold
- Kunal Chauhan, Gold
In addition, ISW Fundraising Chair, Sanjay Shah, was recognized for his commitment to ISW and the community with a PVSA Lifetime Award which included a signed certificate from the president.
To learn more about how you can nominate yourself for the PVSA, click here.
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Contact Information
India Society of Worcester
Mailing Address: PO Box 136, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
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Answering Machine: 508-842-9795
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