By: Shelbin MS
The Bhavan London on August 4 celebrated India’s Independence Day with a grand event of illuminating speeches by guests and cultural performances. The celebration marked the 75 years of India’s Independence.
The evening began with a prayer by M N Nandakumara, executive director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, UK, followed by the welcome address by Subhanu Saxena, an executive committee member of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, UK.
Cllr. Daryl Brown, deputy mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham, addressed the gathering and spoke about the important work of The Bhavan in the local as well as the wider community.
Lal Chellaram (Corpus Fund Donor), Surekha Mehta (vice chairman, Bhavan UK), and Baroness Usha Prashar OBE (Honorary president UK community Foundations) shared a few thoughts about the thriving Indian community in the UK, and the robust work being done by the Indians across all sectors in the UK.
Amish Tripathi (director of the Nehru Centre) spoke about the contributions of Indians in various fields.
The chief guest of the evening was H.E Sujit Ghosh, the acting Indian high commissioner to the UK, who enumerated the great progress India had made in various fields. He also spoke about the continuing work and contributions of institutions like The Bhavan, and stressed on nurturing the role of the younger generation in taking forward the country’s glory.
Bhavan executive committee member Varinder Singh gave the vote of thanks.
The audience were treated to melodious patriotic songs in Bengali, Hindi, and Tamil.
The event concluded with scintillating Bharatanatyam and Kathak performances by The Bhavan’s students.
