Tag: SP Balasubramanyam

Indian Tricolor Hoisted to Celebrate India’s 74th Independence Day on Times Square

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (FIA Tristate), created history on August 15, 2020 by unfurling the Indian tricolor for the first time ever at the iconic Times Square in New York City, to commemorate India’s 74th Independence Day. It was the first time that such an event was held at the crossroads of the world. 

Chants of “Vande Matarm” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” reverberated through Times Square as attendees stood witness to a historic moment. Indian American community leaders, representatives from Indian American community  organizations, patriotic Indians as well as members of the media attend the event.Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, unfurled the Indian flag. He was accompanied by his wife Abha Jaiswal, Deputy Consul General Shatrughna Sinha and his entire team at the Consulate General of India in New York. 

In his address, Consul General Jaiswal highlighted Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day message, delivered from New Delhi’s majestic Red Fort, where he paved the way forward for India, and our aspirations of building a new India. The celebration of India’s Independence Day in the U.S. is a symbol of the strong relations between the U.S. and India, he said. 

Others who spoke at the flag hoisting event were grand sponsor Kenny Desai, Deepak Patel of Dunkin Donuts, and Mr. Sethuraman of Incredible India who congratulated FIA on the historic event and wished everyone present on the occasion of India’s 74th Independence Day.  

FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya thanked all the sponsors and his team and the members of the Board of Trustees as well FIA’s senior advisors, Padmashri Dr. Sudhir Parikh and Padmashri Dr. H.R. Shah, for making the event a grand success. Vaidya recognized the support of the Consulate General of India in New York, as well as that of  Hon. Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio and his entire staff, as well as the New York Police Department and the Fire Department.

This year’s Independence Day marked a new chapter in FIA’s history, as two iconic venues in Manhattan will come alive to celebrate India’s Independence Day. Along with the first ever celebrations on Times Square, the FIA, in continuing with its annual tradition, will be illuminating the Empire State Building in tricolors – orange, white and green – to mark India’s Independence Day.

The Times Square flag hoisting ceremony is a testament to the Indian American community’s growing patriotism and is a fitting tribute to the FIA which is celebrating its golden jubilee year. Established in 1970, FIA  of the largest esteemed umbrella organizations in the Indian community. Since 1981, the FIA has been organizing it’s flagship event – the annual India Day parade, which showcases India’s rich cultural heritage and history.

“I, along with my FIA family, team members and the patriotic community, share the joy and pride of such an historic celebration here in the New York area and back home in India,” FIA President Anil Bansal said. “Traditionally, for the last 40 years, FIA has celebrated India’s Independence Day in the form of the world famous India Day Parade on the streets of the financial capital of the world, New York City. However, this year due to the unprecedented havoc created by the COVID-19 pandemic globally, the FIA, in the interest of the community and in following the guidelines of the city, had to cancel the India Day Parade,” he said “This year, FIA added another milestone in its glorious accomplishments by organizing for the first time, the hoisting of India’s tricolor, at the Iconic, Times Square.”

Indian American organizations which participated in this year’s organization were Society of Indo American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA), National Association of Asian Indian Christians (NAAIC), Shri Guru Ravi Dass Sabha of New York, Maharaja Darshan Das Charitable Trust, Siddhendra Kuchipudi Art Academy, Telangana American Telugu Association, Telugu Association of North America, Association of Indians in America, Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America, Telugu Literal and Cultural Association, Siddhendra Kuchipudi art Academy, Telugu Fine Arts Society, Marathi Vishwa, Siddhi Vinayak Temple Toms River,N.J., The Association of Indians in America, N.Y., and the Jackson Heights Merchants Association. FIA thanks all its sponsors, Kenny Desai, Dunkin Donuts and /-Incredible India as well as the Empire State Building Trust Inc.,  for graciously supporting the Times Square flag hoisting event and making it a grand success. 

Bollywood Singer SP Balasubramanyam’s Condition Is “On Way To Recovery”

Staff ReporterEntertainment, Politics 0

Noted playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam (SPB)’s son and filmmaker SP Charan on Tuesday posted an Instagram video, sharing a health update about his father and singer-actor SP Balasubrahmanyam. Charan said that his father ‘continues to be on the ventilator’ and is on the path to recovery. In the video, SP Charan is heard saying, “The status is the same as it was yesterday. There are rumors going around that dad is off the ventilator. That is not true. We do wish that the day comes real soon. He is being scrutinized by the medical team at MGM health center.” A Covid-19 patient, SPB was reported to be on life support system and in a critical condition, said MGM Healthcare, a private hospital. In a statement issued here the hospital said on Aug 13, SPB’s condition deteriorated and based on the advice of the expert medical team attending to him, he has been moved to the intensive care unit (ICU). The hospital said SPB is on life support system and his condition remains critical. He is currently under the observation of a team of experts from critical care and his haemodynamic and clinical parameters are being closely monitored, a bulletin released by MGM Healthcare said. He was admitted to MGM Healthcare on Aug 5 with Covid-19 symptoms. On Aug 5, in a Facebook post, the 74 year old SPB said he was suffering from a very mild attack of coronavirus and got himself hospitalized to take rest. He said though the doctors had advised him to stay at home and take rest, he decided to be in a hospital as at home his family members would be very much concerned. He had hoped to be discharged from the hospital in two days. SP Charan said that his father is able to recognize the doctors and has regained mobility but remains on life support. He said the doctors are happy with the singer’s progress who is undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at a Chennai hospital. However, he added that the singer may take a long time to recover fully. Updating about the noted singer’s health, SP Charan said in a video message on Facebook, “Dad was shifted from the 3rd floor ICU to an exclusive ICU on the 6th floor. The pleasant news is there is some mobility. He is moving around a little bit and signed thumbs up to the doctors and is able to recognize them. He is still on life support, he is breathing a little more comfortably than a few days back. Doctors see it as a very good sign that he is on a road towards getting better. There is a lot of effort from the medical team and he will take a long time for recovery. But, we are all hopeful.” “This is not going to happen in a day or two, maybe even a week. He is going to surely recover and get back to us as early as possible. We are happy and the doctors are as well. He is looking good and not fully sedated now. He is able to recognise people. He will not talk for a little while, but, surely, he will get to that level soon enough.”

Balusubrahmanyam took to singing as a hobby during his childhood. He developed an interest in music very early in his life, and had studied notations and learnt to play instruments such as harmonium and flute on his own while listening to his father. His father wanted Balu to become an engineer; this brought him to Ananthpur, where he enrolled for the Engineering course in JNTU. Later, he discontinued the course due to typhoid and then joined AMIE. Meanwhile, he also pursued his hobby and won awards at many singing competitions. There, he was identified as a good singer in annual college programmes. Some friends recommended him to sing in Madras and provided him with referrals.

In 1964, a Madras-based Telugu Cultural Organisation, organized a music competition for amateur singers. Balu won the first prize, and that proved to be a turning point in his life. Music director SP Kodandapani took him under his wing. Offers then poured in from Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam movies.

Balasubrahmanyam made his debut in film music as a singer in Dec 15, 1966, with Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna, a film scored by his mentor Kodandapani. He rose to fame ever since with his melodious voice touching the hearts and souls of millions of people around the world.He has sung more than 40,000 songs since then in more than 5 different Indian languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam. He holds the world record in the Guinness Book of World Records for having sung the most number of song recordings by any singer (the record for a female singer is held by Lata Mangeshkar).

A gifted singer, he is highly regarded for his incredible vocal range, deep rich voice, and mastery of style, technique and control. These qualities allowed him express across various genres of Indian music, and he has been highly sought-after by many of India’s film music composers. His approach to singing is methodical; he perseveres to understand the full meaning of the songs that he sings (many of which are very poetic) and the settings in which these songs are couched in order to make it most effective. Winner of numerous national and regional awards, SPB has remained the top singer in the highly competitive Bollywood world.

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