International Hindi Association
Biennial Convention
Richfield, Ohio
May 2-3, 2025

By Dr. Shail Jain

The International Hindi Association (IHA) celebrated its biennial convention on May 2-3, 2025, hosted by the Northeast-Ohio Chapter in Richfield, Ohio. The convention was supported by several local mayors, who honored the event with special proclamations: an "International Hindi Awareness Month "proclamations-from the mayors of Richfield and Akron, Ohio; and an "International Hindi Awareness Week " proclamations from the Mayors of Medina, Broadview Heights, and Independence, Ohio. The conference was attended by IHA Trustee Chair Mr. Tarun Surti; other Trustees Mr. Alok Mishra and Mr. Inderjeet Sharma; former National Presidents Major Sher Bahadur and Mr. Ajay Chadda; the current National President; representatives from current and past national teams and various chapters; along with local chapter officials, the welcome committee, local members, and Hindi and culture enthusiasts from Northeast Ohio. The central theme of the conference was "New Generation: Hindi and Indian Culture in the Digital Age."

The convention comprised of two full days events with three key sessions: Session 1 - the Cultural Evening (May 2) It was held at the Highland High School, Medina, Ohio.

Inauguration-

The convention's inauguration was kicked off with "deep prajjwalan" (ceremonial lighting of the lamp) by the Chief Guest of the evening, Medina City's Mayor Mr. Dennis Hanwell, the IHA trustee chair Mr. Tarun Surti, the Trustee IHA Mr. Alok Misra , IHA past President Major Sher Bahadur Singh , the National President Dr Shail Jain, the host chapter north east Ohio's Convener Dr Rakesh Ranjan and the host chapter President Mr. Ashwini Bhardwaj.

Cultural Program:

The cultural evening was facilitated by IHA members, Mrs. Renu Chaddha and Dr. Tasneem Lokhandwala. It had a unique theme highlighting the diverse classical, semi classical and folk dances, the art, music, and performances by artists from the local community. The artists were of all ages from 5yr to 80 years old . Each performance brought to life a different Indian state, introduced through postcards highlighting key facts about each region by two impeccable masters of ceremonies, Dr. Sunita Dwivedi and Dr. Rashmi Chopra, followed by a live artistic depiction via dance or song or poetry. This beautifully symbolized India's rich diversity coming together in complete unity on one stage. Ohio is very fortunate to have some trailblazing classical artists who have opened schools of dance and music and IHA was fortunate to have them volunteer their time and effort and share their students work with us for the evening.

Rotary district 6630, Exchange student participation; The event was also attended by an exchange student,Kai Tote from Rotary District 6630, who will be traveling to India in July 2025 for a one-year exchange program. Indian Children book gift to Participants; At the end of program in appreciation of youth participation, all children were given one Hindi book of their choice ( to pick from 8-10 different types of books). This gift was from north east ohio chapter of International Hindi Association. Participant children as well as parents were happy and appreciated the unique gift by north east Ohio chapter of IHA.

Session 2 - Educational Forum (May 3, morning)

It was held at the Quality Inn, Richfield, Ohio. Inaugural function; The master of ceremony for the event was our Youth representative Nikunj khandelwal (college student), he did a wonderful representation of youth, spoke in fluent hindi and made an impression on all attendees. This session was inaugurated with deep prajjwalan by the Richfield Mayor, Mr. Michael Wheeler, with IHA leaders and representatives from across the United States including Alok Nanda (Tenneessee), Anil Gupta (Indiana), Bhawna Kalyan (Houston), Dharmpal Singh (New York), Choudhary Pratap Singh (Washington D.C.), Archana Panda (San Francisco). Report from the Mayor of Richfield &IHA chapter representatives;

Mayor of Richfield, Mr. Michael Wheeler, delivered a brief speech emphasizing the importance of the mission of the International Hindi Association (IHA), the preservation of culture and language, and the support for diversity. He affirmed that the City of Richfield has always supported these values and will continue to do so in the future. IHA Trustee Chair Mr. Tarun Surti provided a brief overview of the programs conducted by the organization and shared plans for future initiatives. National President Dr. Shail spoke about the accomplishments achieved during his tenure and encouraged everyone to focus on the future, to work toward the organization's goals, and to engage more with the younger generation.

Representatives from various U.S. states also briefly presented the activities conducted by their respective chapters: Seema Verma (Tennessee), Rakesh Kumar (Indiana, via video presentation), Bhawna Kalyan (Houston), Trustee Indrajeet Sharma (New York), Choudhary Pratap Singh (Washington D.C.), and Ashwini Bhardwaj (Northeast Ohio). Everyone appreciated hearing about the different approaches being taken to achieve a common goal of IHA .

Book Release;

Two books were released during this program: 1. "Kuch Hum Bhi Likh Gaye Hain Tumhari Kitaab Mein - Gulab Khandelwal ki Ghazlen" Editor: Om Nishchal This book was released by Mrs. Aastha Naval, a renowned figure in the Hindi literary world, who had come from Washington, D.C.

2. Novel: "Nandita Abhinav" Author: Ashok Lav This book was released by Mr. Sher Bahadur Singh, former Trustee of the International Hindi Association.

Educational sessions;

The theme-based included presentations by scholars from various universities and states. They shared valuable online, digital resources provided by the Indian government and talked about other platforms such as Google, artificial intelligence, and educational websites (both free and paid). These resources aim to support Hindi educators, students, and advocates of the Indian culture. The session was highly interactive and informative, offering practical guidance to all attendees. Session 3 - Kavi Sammelan evening (Literary Poetry evening) (May 3, evening).It was also held at the Quality Inn, Medina Ohio. The master of ceremony was Ms Ashtha Nawal.

Inauguration:

This poetry evening was-attended by the Richfield Mayor, Mr. Michael Wheeler, the Summit County Clerk of Courts Ms. Tavia Golanski, and Ex Ohio Senator Mr. Neeraj Antani, along with delegates of IHA from several states and local enthusiasts of Hindi and Indian culture. Deep Prajjwalan was by the Summit County Clerk of Courts Ms Tavia Golanski, IHA trustee Indrajeet Sharma, IHA Past President Ajay Chadda, Trustee Chair Tarun Surti, First President of Northeast Ohio Bimal Sharan, IHA longtime supporter and major donor for current convention Archna Agrawal, Ex Ohio Senator Neeraj Antani and IHA current president Dr Shail Jain.

Recognition Ceremony:

During the program, north east ohio chapter arranged to honor special volunteers, people who worked tirelessly for many years towards IHA mission or worked hard in various ways during current convention to make it successful. They were honored and presented with special service plaques. Plaques were received by Mrs. Anju Kapoor, Dr. Anand Khandelwal, Mr. Ashwini Bhardwaj, Mr. Pawan Khaitan, Mrs. Kiran Goyal, Dr. Rakesh Ranjan, Dr. Thanmal Jain, Mr. Tarun Surti, Mr. Dharmpal Singh, Dr. Prakash Chand, Mr. Ramesh Joshi, Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Mrs. Richa Mathur and Dr. Shail Jain.

Kavi Sammelan :

Three accomplished poets- Mr. Indra Awasthi (Portland), Ms. Archna Panda (San Francisco), and Mr. Abhinav Shukla (Seattle)-engaged the audience with poetry that blended humor, political commentary, and thought-provoking themes on gender equality and social justice.

Concluding notes: The convention had many local IHA members and community volunteers for the reception committee, the publication committee, the website committee, the food committee, the decoration committee, IT team, the fundraising committee , etc. The convention had active participation from the IHA chapters-nationwide including Boston, Tennessee, Washington DC, Indiana, New York, Houston and the host chapter from northeast-Ohio.

Dr. Shail Jain, the National President of IHA (2024-25), expressed pride in the organization's achievements and emphasized the importance of future efforts to promote Hindi language and Indian culture. She mentioned- "Our chapters and national team have accomplished a great deal, but we must work even harder to ensure Hindi becomes recognized as a second language in American schools. We must pass our language and cultural heritage to the next generation, speak with our children in our mother tongue, and share our values while respecting the diversity around us."

The biennial convention was a true celebration of language, heritage and cultural unity involving all ages and selecting path to next generation.

Program Concluding Round Table (May 4, Morning)

This round table was held between national, chapter, and Northeast chapter officials, volunteers, and representatives. Participants included Tarun Surti, Alok Mishra, Inderjeet Sharma, Major Sher Bahadur Singh, Dr. Shail Jain, Rakesh Kumar, Vidya Singh, Dr. Devvrat Singh, Dharmpal Singh, Dr. Rakesh Ranjan, Dr. Prakash Chand, Dr. Thanmal Jain, Kiran Goyal, Kiran Khaitan, Pawan Khaitan, Dr. Somanath Roy , Ashwini Bhardwaj, and Anju Sharma. Mr. Ramesh Joshi also joined online, as he was unable to travel from India due to unforeseen circumstances.

The discussion covered the success of the convention, challenges faced, and plans for the future. Ideas were also shared for the further growth and development of the organization. All attendees expressed satisfaction with the success of the convention. After brunch, everyone departed for their respective cities.

The 22nd Biennial Convention of the International Hindi Association was a vibrant celebration of language, heritage, and cultural unity, featuring participation across all age groups and thoughtful discussion on shaping the direction for the next generation. Reporting Team -

Anita Gupta (Indiana), Anil Gupta (Indiana), Dr. Shobha Khandelwal (Northeast Ohio), Seema Verma (Tennessee), Prerna Sharma (Tennessee), Dr. Tasneem Lokhandwala (Northeast Ohio), Dr. Sunita Dwivedi (Northeast Ohio), Dr. Rashmi Chopra (Northeast Ohio), Kiran Khaitan (Northeast Ohio), Dr. Shail Jain

National President Dr. Shail Jain emphasized the need to promote Hindi in American schools and pass on our language and cultural values to the next generation. The convention brought together delegates from different states of USA IHA chapters and outreach states and was a meaningful celebration of unity in diversity.

Here are a few photos from the convention.

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