The Indian Panorama is celebrating its 18th year of publication with a Gratitude Gala on February 25 in a grand way. Says its Founding Editor and Publisher Prof Indrajit Singh Saluja, “I want to say my heartfelt thanks to our readers, friends, supporters, and advertisers for the love and support they have blessed us with all these years.”
Prof Indrajit Saluja has become synonymous with his weekly newspaper, a labor of love. He is not only an eminent editor but also a well-respected community leader who has forged links across the ethnic, ideological and political spectrum. His friends, supporters, and who’s who of the community are set to grace the gala at the glittering Pearl Banquet Hall in Hicksville not only to felicitate The Indian Panorama but also to wish him a long life on his 80th birthday.
Dignitaries
Presiding the delightful event will be Hon. Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman diplomat to hold that position.
The new Consul General of India in New York, Amb. Binaya Srikanta Pradhan will be offered a welcome toast by the community at the event.
The newly elected Congressman, Mr Tom Suozzi, whom the Indian Panorama endorsed on the first day of his campaign, has promised ‘my loyal friend’ Prof Saluja that he will be there to personally thank Long Island’s Indian community, with whom he has forged bonds over the years.
Honorees
The four eminent people to be honored at the gala with whom The Indian Panorama has had a long association, are:
- Dr V.K. Raju – Life Achievement award. The President and Founder of the Eye Foundation of America, he has a mission to eliminate childhood blindness from the world. He has helped start two eye hospitals in India and held free eye camps in 30 developing countries.
- Ms Ranju Batra – Excellence in Promotion of Diplomacy Award. She is the Chairperson of Diwali Foundation USA which holds the Diwali Stamp – Power of One awards event at the UN every year to honor diplomats. She also led the campaign to get USPS to release the Diwali stamp.
- Mr Harry Singh Bolla – Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award. He is the Founder and CEO of Bolla Oil Corporation which runs a chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the New York area. Through his Bolla Charity Foundation, he gives back to the community here and extends help to the needy in India.
· Mrs Purnima Desai — Excellence in Culture Award. As Founder and President of Shikshayatan Cultural Center and Sriniketan Foundation, she has been instrumental in encouraging and supporting Indian culture through music and arts training and events. She has also produced and directed over a thousand cultural programs.
US launch of Blitz India
The Indian Panorama’s gala event will also get an international sheen. The US edition of Blitz India will be jointly launched by its Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Deepak Dwivedi, CEO Sandeepp Saxena, and Prof Saluja. Blitz India, the country’s first chronicler of development news, has several editions in India and was launched in the UK last year.
At the event for the ages, Prof Saluja will also introduce ALotusInTheMud.com, launched by his friend, Parveen Chopra, exactly a year ago at the Indian Consulate. Lotus is a web magazine presenting free content on wellness and spirituality, a first by an Indian American.
The attendees at the gala will also be welcomed and entertained with both traditional Indian and contemporary touches.
Indefatigable Prof Saluja
For Prof Saluja, The Indian Panorama is an expression and extension of his love for India as well as a platform to project the rich South Asian culture and how our successful community has made a place in the melting pot of America. A trilingual, he has also helped start newspapers in Hindi and Punjabi.
Started 18 years ago in New York, The Indian Panorama also has a Dallas edition now. It reaches the Indian diaspora in the entire US and the world. Its editorial content is the right mix of community news as well as Indian and American current affairs.
Indefatigable Prof Saluja’s spirit and intensity of work belie his years. He came to the US over 20 years ago after having a long career as a Professor of English Literature at leading colleges in India. Alongside, he founded a prominent monthly magazine titled ‘Punjab Beat’.
Robert Frost’s words “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have miles to go before I sleep”, aptly characterize Prof. Saluja’s journey in life.
(Parveen Chopra is a seasoned journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit. He founded ALotusInTheMud.com in 2022 as a social enterprise.)
