Indian Independence Celebration and FICA Picnic August 15, 2009
Squire's Castle
The Indian Independence Celebration and FICA Picnic were held Saturday August 15, 2009 at Squire's Castle. The goal of the day was to celebrate 62 years of Indian independence by sharing Indian heritage with family and friends.
... with Paramjit Singh and Venky Venkatesh
Venky Venkatesh welcomed the group and introduced Om Julka. Mr. Julka was in New Delhi 62 years ago when independence was achieved.
As you can hear in the video below, Mr. Julka has had some amazing experiences including hearing Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other Indian leaders in person. He also witnessed the huge funeral procession after Gandhi was assassinated.
Om Julka then released the flags of the United States and India and the crowd sang the national anthems of the US and India led by a talented group of youngsters.
Om Julka, Satish Parikh and others sing the National Anthems
It was a beautiful summer Saturday so groups began enjoying the picnic. Some explored Squire's Castle.
Others played football, soccer and football on the grounds.
A softball field was transformed into a cricket pitch. Young people played kickball, Frisbee and had their faces painted.
Wonderful food, music and camaraderie were enjoyed by all.
Youngsters had their faces painted
Adults gathered under the shade of a tree
Shami Bafna's shirt said 'Come to India. A billion people can't be wrong!'
