2021 is a Milestone year for IACA not just for the chronological significance but also for our ability to raise $270,000+ for renovating the building; Starting many new activities; Adding 350 new members(500 with spouses); Involving 300 volunteers in multiple activities and raising IACA Stature/visibility in Georgia.
As our jingle says – IACA Hum Hai – Sub Ke Liye Hum Hai ( We are IACA and We are for everyone). We thank Mr. Chirantan Banerjee for the powerful lyrics and the melodious rendering (https://youtu.be/vRvZJVD2GRM).
Thanks to Geetanjali Talukdar for coordinating the production and Jyothsna Hegde for creating a captivating Video.
We have been able to achieve the unparalleled success due to generosity of our Sponsors, efficient leadership of Celebrations’ Co-Chairs and IACA officers, tireless time and energy of Volunteers, and support of Partner organizations and Life/Annual members.
With an event (sometimes more than one) every month, IACA Golden Jubilee Celebrations surely invigorated and energized the community.
2021 EVENTS
KICKOFF - 1/26/2021
Team: Ani Agnihotri / Vishwanath Ganti
IACA Golden Jubilee Celebrations Kick-off was held virtually through Zoom video conference, with Message from Gov. Brian Kemp. CGI, Atlanta, Dr. Swati Kulkarni and introduction to Honorary Co-Chairs for GJC Celebrations, Dr. Jag Sheth & Mr. Harsha V Agadi
MONTHLY AUTHOR SERIES - A CONVERSATION WITH RITU BANSAL
Team: Ritu Bansal / Amit Arora /Ranjeethaveena Pol / Prajakta Padgaonkar
Previous volunteers: Nitin Joshi / Jyothsna Hegde
IACA initiated this new series on 2/28/2021 and continues to introduce authors of South Asian origin to the community.
Authors Interviewed: Anjali Enjeti, Kiran Bhat, Dr. Khyati Joshi, Dr. Uma Majmudar, Dr. Suvrat Bhargave, Dr. Saumya Dave, Sucheta Kamath, Reetika Khanna, Murali Kamma, Roshani Chokshi, Prajakta Padgaonkar, Sanjena Sathian, Sucheta Rawal and soon, Sneha Jhamb
YOGA SESSIONS (2) - 3/7/21 and 3/21/21
Team: Sathiya Soman / Rani Singh / Amit Arora / Jyothsna Hegde
GJC also addressed wellness with ‘Yoga Therapy With Sathiya Soman’. Soman offered an Integrated Approach to Yoga Therapy (IAYT) for targeted ailments including diabetes, and hypertension in her two March sessions which were very well received. Her virtual sessions highlighted Asana, Pranayama, Meditation, Kriya and Ayurveda based on individual health conditions.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY - 3/13/2021
Team: Neera Bahl, Paddy Sharma , Bina Desai, Geeta Talukdar, Kiran Agnihotri, Rani Singh, Vidya Prakash, Neeti Deewan, Vaisheshi, Jyothsna Hegde
Themed Transcending Gender and Race, International Women’s Day with IACA highlighted the trials and tribulations along the pathway to success, with a focus on challenges faced and overcome by women with respect to gender and race. With a goal is to inspire and invigorate all women to realize their full potential and revitalize their indomitable spirit, the event presented women in three different panels. The ‘Glass Ceiling Shatterers’ panel featured successful CEOs of Indian origin, The ‘Rising Trailblazers’ panel young women who chose careers such modeling and music fueled by passion and found acclaim, and the ‘Social Agents of Change’ underscored women who worked to address and help social issues and fight for political rights.
IACA TALENT SHOW ITS - 4/9/21
Team: Ani Agnihotri / Vishwanath Ganti
IACA announced its first ITS, a celebration of talent, confidence & hard work for Children & Youth with Grand Finale on April 11, 2021
RHYTHMS OF INDIA - 4/24/21
Team: Geetanjali Talukdar, Devyani Desai, Runa Talukdar Mitra, Dhananjay Gupta, Rikhia Saha, Jyothsna Hegde, Asha Prasad Rao
IACA revived its highly acclaimed program, Rhythms of India, featuring some of the iconic dance institutions of Atlanta. The in-person event that was also broadcast live on FB and Zoom garnered many accolades from the audience as well as performers. Twelve of Atlanta’s premier dance academies put their best foot forward to present a spectacular show par excellence. The dances were orchestrated around the story of Arya and her mother who set on a journey to witness various dance forms across India. The event showcased an array of dance forms ranging from classical, to regional folk dances and Bollywood.
HELP INDIA BREATHE FUND - 5/07/21
Team: Chand Akkineni, Dhananjay Gupta, Geetanjali Talukdar, Jyothsna Hegde
IACA raised and distributed 100% of the donations, without any deductions, to the following organizations: CARE - $3800; Association for India's Development AID - $3800; and PMCARES - $4371
HEALTH SEMINARS - 6/26/21 AND 9/11/21
Team: Ani Agnihotri, Vishwanath Ganti
IACA presented 2 Health Seminars:
1. Health Trends & Unusual Challenges in the Indian American Population - a live panel discussion moderated by Dr. Anu Bhat and featuring Dr. Naresh Parikh, Dr. Jayanti Srinivasaih, Dr. Kalai Chellam & Dr. Sreekala Satheesh.
2. India, Diabetes and COVID-19 with Dr. Nalini Saligram and Dr. Venkat Narayan
FESTIVAL OF INDIA - 8/15/21
Team: IACA
This silver jubilee year of FOI came as a full circle for Chand Akkineni, who is the think tank behind FOI. After much deliberation about online or in-person, the decision was made celebrate the occasion live. A pandemic notwithstanding, Akkineni and his executive team and a driven set of skilled volunteers strived tirelessly to keep up the FOI tradition along with safety protocols.
Addressing the pandemic, IACA added onsite free Covid vaccination and free testing drives along with a popular Health Fair at FOI this year. Cultural performances all through the day include dance, music, fashion shows and also western music by Indian Americans.
The guests of honor included Attorney General of Georgia Hon. Chris Carr, Hon. Consul General of India, Dr. Swati Kulkarni and Chairwoman of the Board of Commissioners from Cobb County Hon. Lisa N. Cupid and Chairwoman of the Board of Commissioners from Gwinnett County, and Hon. Nicole Hendrickson. Wing commanders from Indian Army, Ayub Khan, N.K. Johri Mrs. Kumar and Mrs. Madhu (wife of PARAM veer Chakra winner) enhanced the patriotic milieu of the occasion. Bollywood actress Pooja Batra added glamor as the celebrity guest.
This year, FOI added on a brand-new feature – Fireside Chat, featuring Padma Bhushan Dr. Jag Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business, Goizueta Business School, Emory University as the host with successful entrepreneurs Harsha Agadi, Chairman and CEO, GHS Holdings, LLC and Mitesh Shah, CEO, Noble Investment Group who will discuss Creation of Wealth and Giving Back.
The Art Exhibition showcased artwork of Indian American artists. Another new addition the Flash mob had all the youngsters excited!
Seminars of Business, Entrepreneurs and Health featured specialists in the area sharing their expertise. Public Speaking Contest, Chess Competition, Drawing competition kept the kids and adults busy.
The Flag Walk will marshalled over 30 local organizations in participation and the spirited lezim dance.
Event Management
Vishwanath Ganti, Ranjithaveena Pol
Event Titans team
Siva Vangala –Product Owner, Archana Reddy & Sai Keerthana – Tech Support Team
Jyothsana Hegde – Digital Media,
Ranjithaveena Pol – IT, Communications & Data Management
Google Analytics – Sudhir Agarwal
Website – Dr.Raktim Sen, Raghava Tadavarthi
Health Fair
Dr. Inderpaul Singh, Dr. Ashok Desai, Dr. Tarak Patel,
Dr. Indira Menon, Kris Gadde, Rama Iyer, Ramesh Patel
Volunteering Team
Synthia Padala -Lead, Prajakta Padgaonkar - Digital media,
Core Volunteers - Vishnupriya Priyam - Virtual, Vidya Prakash - Registration & Booth, Rama Iyer - Health Fair, Zinki Malhotra - Seminars, Ricky Desai - Seating
Flyer Creation Team
Lead/Mentors - Prajakta Padgaonkar, Synthia Padala
Volunteers - Rishi Damaraju, Dheshna Mangesh, Nyneeshia Padala
Pranavi Borra, Sadana Ganaaraj
Flag Walk Team
Leads - Ritesh Chauhan, Sudhir Agarwal, Sanjeev Gupta, Meher Lanka, Ruchir Ghildiyal.
Lezim Masters - Sanjay Gadre & Prashant Garud,
Lezim co-ordinator - Atul Wadyalkar.
Cultural Team
Leads - Dr. Raktim Sen, Bhavini Subramani;
Sreedevi Dadithota, Asawari Gadre, Nidhi Rana Kharbhanda, Geetanjali Talukdar
Audio/Video - Prashant Kollipara & Praveen from ByteGraph
Seminar Team
Amit Arora, PR Subramanian, Rajan Gopalan
Art Exhibition
Malika Ghosh Garrett and Dr. Minnie Bhupathi
Chess Competition
Rajesh Jampala, Surya Kopula
Drawing Competition
Leena Sathe Joshi
Public Speaking
Ariel Ghinga & Ranjithaveena Pol
Emcees
Nidhi Rana Kharbanda, Sreedevi Dadithota, Shelley Chinnan.
Photography
Lorna Valcin - from New York Life, Arvind Shukla
Author Series on Zoom
Ritu Bansal
Women Leadership Forum
Neeti Dewan
Golden Jubilee Souvenir
Released by CGI, Atlanta Dr. Swati Kulkarni
Chair - Bina Desai, Editors - Jyothsna Hegde, Dr. Uma Majmudar
IASF INDIA AMERICAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND- 8/15/21
Team: Dr. Paddy Sharma, Kris Gadde
IACA took back the control of Scholarship fund from IASF and distributed $20,000 for scholarships during FOI. Dr.Paddy Sharma and Kris Gadde led the effort
IASF presented need-based and merit-based scholarships for undergraduates and rising undergraduates graduating from high schools in Georgia.
NEED BASED AWARDEES ($1500): Ekta Ariyur, Manasi Giridharan, Sanghamitra Volam, Srilasya Volam, Sukrutha Suthari, Yash Sajja
MERIT BASED AWARDEES ($1000): Ashutosh Chakragiri, Daksh Sharma, Divya Malika Vikram, Pooja Manekar, Siva Appana, Siya Lakshmi Kalra, Soumia Vellanki, Srisneha Vallabhajosyula, Tharini Ramakrishnan Kavitha, Yash Kadadi, Yasmin Shalim
PROCLAMATIONS GALORE!
Efforts: Chand Akkineni, Neera Bahl, Jyothsna Hegde, Ani Agnihotri
Upon IACA's request Gov. Brian Kemp declared August 15, 2021 as India Day in the State of GA, in Gwinnett County by Chairwoman Hendrickson and in Cobb County by Commissions Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
HOMECOMING - 9/26/21
Team: Dhananjay Gupta, Geetanjali Talukdar, Rajeethaveena Pol, Synthia Padala, Prajakta Padgaonkar, Debi Banerji, Bina Desai, Bharat Desai, Chaitanya Bhatt, Rani Singh, Vir Nanda, Rasik Patel, Jyothsna Hegde
IACA greeted all its members in the newly renovated IACA Building!
CONCERT - 10/24/21
Team: Kaushal Tripathi
IACA presented Ustaad Shafaat Khan in Concert - Indian Classical/Folk/Fusion music on Sitar, Tabla and Vocal
TOWNHALL MEETINGS - 09/19/21 AND 11/21/21
Team: Chand Akkineni, Amit Arora
In an attempt to involve and gather ideas from the community, two Townhall meetings, one to gather ideas and another to learn about candidates for IACA 2022 Elections, were held and received very well.
ATLANTA INDIAN IDOL
Team: Dr. Raktim Sen , Dr. Anu Bhat, Bina Desai, Jyothsna Hegde, Dr. Vidya Prakash, Deepak Bagdi, Niloy Bhattacharya, Rituparna Joshi, Sripriya Srinivas Ranjeethaveena Pol, Synthia Padala, Prajakta Padgaonkar
Lassiter Concert Hall reverberated to the melodies of mesmerizing performances by 18 finalists (selected from over 60 aspirants) with stellar performances from Kalashram USA and Kalaivani Dance and Music Academy. Consul General of India, Atlanta, Dr. Swati Kulkarni, and grandson of Legendary singer Mohammed Rafi, Fuzail Rafi, presided as chief guests of the event handing out prizes to winners.
ATLANTA INDIAN IDOL
Team: Dr. Raktim Sen , Dr. Anu Bhat, Bina Desai, Jyothsna Hegde, Dr. Vidya Prakash, Deepak Bagdi, Niloy Bhattacharya, Rituparna Joshi, Sripriya Srinivas Ranjeethaveena Pol, Synthia Padala, Prajakta Padgaonkar
UPCOMING: CHRISTMAS PARTY
Team: Synthia Padala, Rani Singh, Dhananjay Gupta, Paddy Sharma, Rajeethaveena Pol, Sreedevi Dadihota, Rev Jacob Das, Paul Punyasamudram
