Arts4All holds World’s Fair Diwali and Navaratri gala, recognizes human rights honorees

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On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Queens Borough President Donovan J. Richards, New York State Senator John C. Liu, New York State Senator Leroy G. Comrie, Assemblyman David I. Weprin, and Councilman James F. Gennaro joined the Arts4all Foundation to celebrate and honor the legacy of human rights at the first-ever World’s Fair Diwali and Navaratri Gala.

Dr. Sumita SenGupta, founder of Arts4All Foundation, which organized the event, said, “On the eve of Navaratri, we are honored to host the first-ever World’s Fair Diwali and Navaratri celebration, as the two holidays are unique in spreading a message of the light of knowledge removing all forms of ignorance, righteousness triumphing over injustice, honoring women’s empowerment, and shedding light on societal inequities, as well as the importance of preserving inalienable universal human rights and protecting the planet. We are proud to have honored distinguished individuals who, each in their respectful fields, have progressed our society and advanced human rights.”

The event paid tribute and honored the late District Leader Dr. Uma SenGupta, the first Indian American elected to New York State office who started the first Diwali and Navaratri celebrations with the elected officials and the Indian American community in the United States over four decades ago.

The honorees were awarded the Visionary Leadership Award in recognition of their exemplary leadership and excellence in humanitarian service. The honorees included Dr. Sudhir M. Parikh, Chairman and Publisher of Parikh Worldwide Media Inc., Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Queens Borough President Donovan J. Richards, New York State Senator John C. Liu, New York State Senator Leroy G. Comrie, the Judge Rena Malik, the first Indian American Judge in Brookyln, Kiran Dhillon, Pix11 News and Emmy-award winning multi-platform Journalist, Dr. Amrita Gupte, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Mount Sinai Queens, Kaushal Challa, Chief Executive Officer at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Dr. Arya Urmilesh, an internationally acclaimed pediatrician, Dr. Neeraj Singh, a Neurologist at Northwell Health and leading neurology expert,  Mukund Mehta, a Senior tax attorney and accountant, and President of India Home, INC., Beesham A. Seecharan, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Matthews South and Chair of the Board for Sakhi for South Asian Survivors,  Nikhil Goyal, a nationally acclaimed American sociologist, and policymaker, and Shweta Lodha Bowles, Management Consultant at Deloitte.

There were musical and dance performances, a Garba dance party and a Diya lighting ceremony to kick off the beginning of the Navaratri and Diwali holiday season. Santanu Bhowmick, Manik Malhotra, and Yomesh Sharma sang classical Indian and Bollywood songs. Khusba Alam played the tabla. Gaurav Paliwal played the flute, and Poonam Paliwal performed classical Rajasthani dances. The Garba instructor was Purvi Shah.