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    North                       The Indian Eye

                              AMERICANNewsline

             14                                                                                                             OCTOBER 24, 2025

            AIA-NY’s 38th Iconic Deepavali Festival Makes

                                              History on Long Island

            BABYLON, NY

                  he Association of Indians in
                 America, New York (AIA-NY)
            Tcelebrated its 38th iconic Dee-
            pavali Festival at Overlook Beach
            here, marking a milestone as the
            first-ever festival of its kind on Long
            Island.  An estimated 5,000 people
            enjoyed cultural performances, spir-
            itual  presentations,  traditional  Indi-
            an food, and community celebration
            throughout the day.
                A  spectacular  live  fireworks  dis-
            play lit up Long Island’s south shore,
            creating unforgettable memories.
                Amid fulsome compliments for
            staging a grand show and maneu-
            vering the annual event’s move from
            South Street Seaport in Manhattan,
            AIA-NY  President  Beena  Kothari           Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer invited AIA-NY to hold the Deepavali Festival in his Town again next year.
            said, “This event was a dream come
            true... promoting culture, unity, and                                                                     Sponsors, presenters, and VIP
            community engagement.”                                                                                guests were served a sumptuous vege-
                Many  lawmakers  and  dignitar-                                                                   tarian meal before the fireworks show.
            ies greeted the audience and con-                                                                         About 25 stalls and 5 food ven-
            gratulated AIA-NY and its Presi-                                                                      dors were seen doing brisk business.
            dent, Beena Kothari, for organizing                                                                       Main sponsors of the celebra-
            a colorful extravaganza. US Senate                                                                    tion included Bolla Oil, Mount Sinai
            Minority Leader Chuck Schum-                                                                          Health System, New York Cancer
            er sent a video-recorded message.                                                                     and Blood Specialists, Cheap-o-Air,
            Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich                                                                       Northwell Health System, Amneal,
            Schaffer,  impressed  by  the  teem-                                                                  Navika Group, ICICI Bank, NEC-
            ing crowds despite forecasts of bad                                                                   AIA, and Ranju & Ravi Batra.
            weather, announced that his Town                                                                          Media partners included Zee
            will also support the Deepavali Fes-                                                                  Group, Sony, Parikh Worldwide Me-
            tival next year.                   Pt S.N. Charka of East-West School of Dance with the cast of Ramayan dance drama choreo-  dia, TV Asia, Radio Zindagi, Jus TV,
                US Congressman Suhas Subra-     graphed by him. Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tirlok Malik (2nd from left) played Bhishama.     The South Asian Times, The Indian
            manyam came all the way from Vir-                                                                     Panorama, The Indian Eye, Hum
            ginia to grace the event. New York                                                                    Hindustani, South Asian Insider,
            State Assemblywoman Jenifer Ra-   roe, Upstate New York. A Cultural     The   community   celebration  ALotusInTheMud.com, The World
            jkumar said that the Empire State’s   Fashion Show by celebrity design-  opened with the American and Indian   Voice, and Bollywood Insider.
            lead in making Diwali a public holiday   er Prashant Goyal added a touch of   national anthems amid a flag ceremony.  Many past Presidents of AIA Na-
            has been followed by other states, in-  glamor in the  evening.  Later,  Man-  The carefully curated program-  tional and AIA-NY were in attendance.
            cluding California and Pennsylvania.  preet Komal and Amit Sharma from   ming had something for each age   The organizers have thanked
                Consul General of India in New   Rang de Bollywood in San Francisco   group.  The  first  segment  saw  clas-  the Town of Babylon, local partners,
            York Amb. Binaya Srikanta Pradhan   had the audience dance to their Gar-  sical and folk-dance performances   sponsors, and volunteers for their
            was represented by Consul, Commu-  ba beats.                        on stage by kids, young adults, and   support in making this historic cele-
            nity Affairs, Shri Tsewang Gyaltson.  Four people were honored for   adults. Rangoli and art competitions   bration possible.
                Highlights of the daylong pro-  their achievements and contributions   were keenly contested. Health &   President Beena Kothari has
            gram  included Kirtan  Concert  by   to community and society: Justice   Wellness Zone had Yoga & Zumba   expressed heartfelt gratitude to the
            Bhakti Marga, founded by Parama-  Karen Gopee, Dr Gurmohan Sya-     in another enclosure.             evening program’s emcee and cul-
            hamsa Vishwananda, and Ramayan    li, Dr Abhay Malhotra, and Sunita     The event kicked off with an aus-  ture ambassador, Neha Lohia, and to
            Live Dance Drama choreographed    Sadhnani. Ruma Devi, visiting from   picious Ganesh Vandana and conclud-  Gautam Chopra, Kulbhushan Shar-
            by the renowned Pt S.N. Charka of   India, and Kamal Sabri were also   ed with Lakshmi Ji Aarti, symbolizing   ma, and culture director Jyoti Gupta
            East-West School of Dance in Mon-  honored.                         light, prosperity, and togetherness.     Continued on next page... >>

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