August 15th, 2009, accompanied by my nephew Chriss, Mariko and I took our children to the Indian Ambassadors residence in Washington DC to witness the Independence Day Celebration and flag raising ceremony. Officiating that event was Mr. Sanjay Sinha of the Indian Embassy and raising of the Indian flag was officated by the Ambassador herself, the Honorable Ms. Meera Shanker.
Ms. Shanker of the Indian Foreign Service, 1973, had just been posted as the first Lady Ambassador to the US but her prior service had seen her here in 1991 and 1995, so to say the least, she is not a stranger to Washington. Ambassador Shanker succeeded Ambassador Ronon Sen.
The Ambassador proceeded with an eloquent relay of the Presidents message to the Nation.
We were all keenly aware with her openness and down to earth persona. She readily mingled with the guest at her residence. My young girls were taken up by her as my wife and I have been trying to teach them life lessons that if they learnt early to commit their lives to God and do their part, God can also use them to His glory and for them having this rare opportunity to meet a lady of this stature, I think, reinforced to them the lessons that we were trying to teach them.
To make it even better, Madam Ambassador Shankar took the time to stand and pose with them and their cousin Chriss. I know that was the highlight of the day for them.
But as you can see, they were not the only ones who were honored! So were we.
I would have been happy had our summer ended on this note but it did not. If you remember, last year the embassy hosted it's first reception for the tribes of the Northeast, of which we were privileged to represent the Khasi's along with Bah Melvin Dkhar and Kong Twill Gyrwa.
Again this year, an invitation was extended to us, which we gladly accepted. This time was different because the Public Relation Officer Mr. Sinha had asked for all the hill tribes to provide a cultural item. We decided to sing a old folk song entitled "Ri Khasi, Ri Khasi". Having been able to extend the invitation to more of our fellow Khasi's in the metropolitan area, we had a better turn out this year and a bigger group to help render our song. I thought of attaching the clip.....take it for what it is worth but then had second thoughts of it so I will keep it for private use only, but we had fun performing it!
Ambassador Shankar again addressed us and stated that she was....."really very pleased to meet all of you today and to bring you together to celebrate the Northeast"........ She further stated that ...."the Northeast is the part of India where the sun rises.....the gateway to India but because of connectivity and remoteness, this has not been so well linked to India as it should have been". She went on to say..."that the government of India attaches great importance to the development of the Northeast and there is a focus now on building linkages because infrastructure is crucial both from the Northeast to India as well as from the Northeast to other countries...." In closing, Ms. Shanker said that..."the NE itself is such a rich part of India in terms of it's cultural heritage and diversity..." and extended her wishes that we..."please feel welcome at the embassy here today".
As she had done at the Independence Day celebration, the Ambassador again remained with us as we all took the privileged opportunity to take pictures with this humble and open hearted civil servant of the government of India.
The reception concluded with dinner as we mingled and chatted with friends from the Northeast getting to know new people, establishing new friendships and conversing with the embassy staff. I am sure, on behalf of all who were there, that we enjoyed being in the company of fellow countrymen and fellow hill statesmen. Seeing all the color and talking about our homeland brought back a lot of great memories to all of us and a certain feeling of being homesick was evident in the atmosphere.
As we talked and hung around, one could see and feel the friendhsip and joy that surrounded us.
The beautiful Assamese dance and the graceful Manupuri classical dance reminded us of home.
The Mizos sang a song filled with harmony. What a wonderful sound that filled the embassy accompanied with the colors of the Khasi ladies.
Khasi ladies in traditional wear.I even got a bear hug from an old friend from Spicer Memorial college, having grown up there as kids in the early 70's. My friend Partha had given the vote of thanks to the Ambassador.
What would we do without good Indian food.
So, that has been the summer we have had. God has been good to us and I hope that the same has been for your family and you.
As we celebrate wonderful events, such as these, as we enjoy the bounties of life; let us also not forget the part of our homeland where mothers still still struggle to provide food for their children and for the lack of an opportunity to educate their children. As society progresses and as we become more affluent and self reliant, let us remember where we came from.
The remembrance of the past is only appreciated when an effort to correct the failing of the past is accomplished now in the present so the future can bear the rewards of our efforts.
I hope you have enjoyed meeting our new Ambassador, Ms. Meera Shanker, as my family and I have as we wish her well as she service India in the country we all now call home. This summer has been an interesting one for my family and I. One in which we have experienced the togetherness of family but also one in which we have been blest to be able to expose our children to the rich culture and heritage of India.
August 15th, 2009, accompanied by my nephew Chriss, Mariko and I took our children to the Indian Ambassadors residence in Washington DC to witness the Independence Day Celebration and flag raising ceremony. Officiating that event was Mr. Sanjay Sinha of the Indian Embassy and raising of the Indian flag was officated by the Ambassador herself, the Honorable Ms. Meera Shanker.
Ms. Shanker of the Indian Foreign Service, 1973, had just been posted as the first Lady Ambassador to the US but her prior service had seen her here in 1991 and 1995, so to say the least, she is not a stranger to Washington. Ambassador Shanker succeeded Ambassador Ronon Sen.
The Ambassador proceeded with an eloquent relay of the Presidents message to the Nation.
We were all keenly aware with her openness and down to earth persona. She readily mingled with the guest at her residence. My young girls were taken up by her as my wife and I have been trying to teach them life lessons that if they learnt early to commit their lives to God and do their part, God can also use them to His glory and for them having this rare opportunity to meet a lady of this stature, I think, reinforced to them the lessons that we were trying to teach them.
To make it even better, Madam Ambassador Shankar took the time to stand and pose with them and their cousin Chriss. I know that was the highlight of the day for them.
But as you can see, they were not the only ones who were honored! So were we.
I would have been happy had our summer ended on this note but it did not. If you remember, last year the embassy hosted it's first reception for the tribes of the Northeast, of which we were privileged to represent the Khasi's along with Bah Melvin Dkhar and Kong Twill Gyrwa.
Again this year, an invitation was extended to us, which we gladly accepted. This time was different because the Public Relation Officer Mr. Sinha had asked for all the hill tribes to provide a cultural item. We decided to sing a old folk song entitled "Ri Khasi, Ri Khasi". Having been able to extend the invitation to more of our fellow Khasi's in the metropolitan area, we had a better turn out this year and a bigger group to help render our song. I thought of attaching the clip.....take it for what it is worth but then had second thoughts of it so I will keep it for private use only, but we had fun performing it!
Ambassador Shankar again addressed us and stated that she was....."really very pleased to meet all of you today and to bring you together to celebrate the Northeast"........ She further stated that ...."the Northeast is the part of India where the sun rises.....the gateway to India but because of connectivity and remoteness, this has not been so well linked to India as it should have been". She went on to say..."that the government of India attaches great importance to the development of the Northeast and there is a focus now on building linkages because infrastructure is crucial both from the Northeast to India as well as from the Northeast to other countries...." In closing, Ms. Shanker said that..."the NE itself is such a rich part of India in terms of it's cultural heritage and diversity..." and extended her wishes that we..."please feel welcome at the embassy here today".
As she had done at the Independence Day celebration, the Ambassador again remained with us as we all took the privileged opportunity to take pictures with this humble and open hearted civil servant of the government of India.
The reception concluded with dinner as we mingled and chatted with friends from the Northeast getting to know new people, establishing new friendships and conversing with the embassy staff. I am sure, on behalf of all who were there, that we enjoyed being in the company of fellow countrymen and fellow hill statesmen. Seeing all the color and talking about our homeland brought back a lot of great memories to all of us and a certain feeling of being homesick was evident in the atmosphere.
As we talked and hung around, one could see and feel the friendhsip and joy that surrounded us.
The beautiful Assamese dance and the graceful Manupuri classical dance reminded us of home.
The Mizos sang a song filled with harmony. What a wonderful sound that filled the embassy accompanied with the colors of the Khasi ladies.
Khasi ladies in traditional wear.I even got a bear hug from an old friend from Spicer Memorial college, having grown up there as kids in the early 70's. My friend Partha had given the vote of thanks to the Ambassador.
What would we do without good Indian food.
So, that has been the summer we have had. God has been good to us and I hope that the same has been for your family and you.
As we celebrate wonderful events, such as these, as we enjoy the bounties of life; let us also not forget the part of our homeland where mothers still still struggle to provide food for their children and for the lack of an opportunity to educate their children. As society progresses and as we become more affluent and self reliant, let us remember where we came from.
The remembrance of the past is only appreciated when an effort to correct the failing of the past is accomplished now in the present so the future can bear the rewards of our efforts.
I hope you have enjoyed meeting our new Ambassador, Ms. Meera Shanker, as my family and I have as we wish her well as she service India in the country we all now call home.
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