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May 2016 Volume2.16 3

I n d i a Commu n i t y C en t e r N ews l e t t e r

(585)454-7145 (Work0

ICC Scheduling: 737-3148

Visit India Community Center Website: www.iccrochester.org

BOT Chair’s Report By Ramnik Vora

I would like to thank Dr. Sanjay Maggirwar for leading ICC Board of Trustees for last two years. He has done an excellent job. I hope I can mirror the same. I am delighted that I have the strong support of fourteen outstanding Trustees who are very eager to help ICC reach new heights. As you know, the ICC building sustained significant water damage during recent winter and we had to post-pone our banquet. With diligent work of Nagin Shah, Baal Bhagat and Padmanabh Kamath, the building is now fully functional. At its first meeting, the Board of Trustees decided to make the ICC website improvement a priority. We wanted to bring it to modern standard and make it user friendly. Asheesh and Vithal lead this project. Soon our new website will offer many more features. Please try to visit the site. Suggestions are welcome for any further improvement. For the devastating flood in Chennai and surrounding areas, we at ICC saw a need to help. We raised $ 13000+ for this cause. This was all possible because of hard work of the flood relief committee lead by Jyothsna Ponnuri. Of course, this was not possible without your generous contribution which we greatly appreciate. This fund was divided among Arvind Foundation of India, Little Drops Home of India and Sharon society of Pondicherry The annual ICC banquet was a delightful event with Steve Sasson as the keynote speaker who gave an awe-inspiring account of how he developed the first digital camera. Nilesh Patel was awarded the 2016 ICC Service Excellence Award for his invaluable contributions to the ICC’s bookkeeping System, amongst several other things. We will continue the Classical Music and dance programs, KRHTPA, Professional forum and other annual programs. A week ago, we celebrated Mother's Day.. We will be celebrating the successes of our youth as they graduate from High School and head to college, in our annual HS Graduation event on June 10 organized by Jayanti Venkataraman. We will be celebrating Diwali and New Year's Eve, and introducing some new programs. Please keep reading ICN on our website for more information George Eastman Museum has acquired a large collection of Indian films. Rajeev Ramachandran and Padmanabh Kamath are working with GEM to see how all of us can benefit from this collection.ICC is doing well because of your support. We sincerely appreciate that. ICC has grown from its initial stage. Our community is growing and as we expand our programs, ICC needs to grow even bigger. We will need your help to fulfill that mission.

Editor

Jayanti Venkataraman

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Upcoming Events June: 4 and 5: Kalidas Play June 10: ICC HS Graduation Celebration June 26 – July 30: HHSC Aug 3 – Aug 7: Vedanta Retreat Fall Concert Season Dates (TBD): Fridays, September –November) October 29: ICC Diwali November 19: ICC AGM December 2 -4: Kalidas Play December 31: ICC New Year Party

2016 Board of Trustees

Ramnik Vora, Chair 585-264-9834 [email protected]

Mythreyi Srinivasan, Secretary [email protected]

Shruti Pandya, Treasurer 434-251-9635 [email protected]

Nagin Shah Director of Operations 585-309-0422 [email protected]

Baal Bhagat Director of Operations 585-455-1709 [email protected]

Jayanti Venkataraman Scheduling, ICN Editor 585- 737-3148 [email protected]

Jose Maliekal CMD Committee 585-244-1760 [email protected]

Vithal Sanapala, Membership [email protected]

Asheesh Srivastava, Webmaster [email protected]

Rajeev Ramachandran Professional Forum [email protected]

Sanjay Maggirwar, Publicity 585-473-3842 [email protected]

Arti Talwar, Professional Forum [email protected]

Truptesh Kothari, Education [email protected]

Jyothsna Ponnuri, Programs [email protected]

Sandhya Sarlashkar, Programs [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

















2 India Community Newsletter

Annual Banquet was held on May 14, 2016 in the refurnished Auditorium after the February water

damage to the building. It was a wonderful program with a theme of digital photography. Chief guest for the event was Steve Sasson, inventor of the Digital Camera, a retired scientist from Kodak. There were guests from

the George Eastman Museum who recently acquired a large collection of Indian Films. As always, ICC auditorium was impeccably setup by Padmanabh & Amritha Kamath and the team. Each table was well set and coordinated with a beautiful centerpiece. The Board of Trustees admire their energy and the dedication and very much appreciate their active support of this event.

Sanjay Maggirwar, the out-going Chairman of the ICC, opened the 30th Annual Banquet by welcoming the members. Sanjay thanked the members and the board for their support that helped him put several initiatives in place during his leadership. He then

passed on the reigns of the ICC to the new Chairman, Ramnik Vora. Ramnik gave an overview of different activities ICC is involved in each year. He highlighted the recent collection of $13,000 to help victims of Chennai Floods in 2015 and informed members of the upcoming new website. He also introduced the 2016 Board of Trustees.

Chief Guest for the evening, Steve Sasson gave an impressive presentation chronicling his invention of the digital camera. He discussed key technical innovations in the 1980’s, which gave a boost and direction to his development of the digital camera. Steve shared some of his observations and learnings on how to deal with disruptive innovations within corporate environments. Steve’s presentation was followed by delicious dinner catered by Tandoor. Another highlight of the evening was the Service

Excellence award given to our one and only Nilesh Patel for his active participation in all ICC events including the Silver Jubilee event, volunteering in all year-round activities, and modernization of the accounting system while serving as the treasurer and participating in

fundraisers like the LED project. Rujuta Dholakia and Sambit Mohapatra entertained the guests by presenting the Bollywood numbers from the 1950’s to the current times. Guests thoroughly enjoyed the event. Many stated that every year ICC has been making a concerted effort to raise the bar by offering a high quality experience at the Banquet.

ICC’s 2016 Annual Banquet By Sandhya Sarlashkar


This years’ Service Excellence Award recipient, Dr. Nilesh Patel, became an ICC Trustee in 2010, after having been a member and an occasional participant/volunteer in its activities for several years. Coincidently, 2010 was the year when

ICC celebrated its silver jubilee. Nilesh played an active role in all aspects of the celebration, from planning events to managing them. Since becoming an ICC Trustee, Nilesh has been, and still is, active in organizing events or volunteering to help out. As many of you have seen, he has become a permanent fixture at ICC’s Mother’s Day activities. Within a short time, he became ICC’s Treasurer, and in that capacity, he modernized our bookkeeping by transferring data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to Quick-Books. In addition, he started involving himself in various fund-raising activities, including the fundraising that led to the installation of the Photovoltaic system on the roof of this auditorium. Besides participating in fundraising activities, he has made several in-kind contributions to facilitate ICC fundraising. In short order, he went on to assume the Chairmanship of the ICC Board, which allowed him to fully immerse himself in the day-to-day running of ICC as well as planning for its future. Even after stepping down as the Chairman of the Board, he continued his involvement in ICC activities. For example, he teamed up with other like-minded individuals and started ICC’s professional forum to develop and offer programs that are of interest to young professionals. Often, he brought whatever gear that was needed to make Professional Forum events successful. His participation and involvement in Professional Forum is continuing unabated. Nilesh’s intervention during a previous Annual Banquet led to the final fundraising that brought ICC’s LED project to a successful completion. From time to time, when ICC needed an alternate location to hold meetings, Nilesh readily offered a conference room of the hotel that he owns. Dr. Nilesh Patel graduated valedictorian from St. John’s University in 1989. He later attended Northwestern University Medical School and came to Rochester for his residency in Urology at the

University of Rochester School of Medicine. While at the University of Rochester, he took business courses at the Simon Business School. These courses sparked his interest in business and he began thinking about starting and running his own company. In 2000, he started his first hotel, which he built from the ground up. This entrepreneurial experience inspired him to start other companies. He demonstrated his passion to create something from nothing as he later worked to own and operate numerous other hotels before start-ing his latest venture, which is the Golden Corral Restaurant in Henrietta. This restaurant at its inception, created 250 jobs for the community. Dr. Patel is a serial entrepreneur and has spent time giving back to the business as well as to the Indian community. He has been a board member of the India Community Center (ICC) and has been an integral part of the ICC Professional Forum, the business forum for Monroe Community College and Brockport University, and the Boys and Girl’s Club of Rochester. Through his active role at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Rochester, he was presented the Community Appreciation Award at their annual gala. Dr. Patel has worked with the Saunders’ School of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology and has taught a Young Entrepreneur’s Academy (YEA!) course. Additionally, Dr. Patel was a Judge for both the YEA! Semifinalist competition as well as Tiger Tank for RIT’s Saunders’ Business School. In addition to Dr. Patel’s entrepreneurial interest, he also takes an interest in theatre. He has played lead and supporting actor roles for numerous plays in the Kalidas Theatre at the India Community Center

2016 ICC Service Excellence Awardee- Nilesh Patel, MD By Jose Maliekal


2016 ICC Annual Banquet


Community Service By

Nilesh Patel, MD 2016 ICC Service Excellence Awardee Excerpts from the Acceptance Speech

Anyone is capable of doing community service. You do not have to be rich or poor. You can be elderly or young. As a matter of fact, I read a story the other day about a New York City barber. He was a simple man who gave free haircuts to everybody as part of his service to his community. One day there was a florist who got a haircut and wanted to pay but the barber refused the money. The next day when he opened the shop, he had a dozen roses waiting for him, as a thank you. Another day, he cut a policeman’s hair and received a dozen doughnuts the next morning. The following day, the barber had cut an Indian IT person’s hair, he wanted to pay but again the barber refused because he wanted to provide a service to his community. Can you guess what happened the next day? A dozen Indian’s were waiting at the door for a haircut. In all seriousness, this event and award are not only to celebrate but also to give, help, and be a part of the community. And judging by this turn out, it is clear that giving means a lot to each and every one of you as well. I believe volunteering is not a choice, but rather a responsibility. Service can give you the opportunity to change people’s lives, including your own. It is a way of giving back to our community and shaping it for the better. Volunteering is what makes a community because it brings people together to work on a common goal. It is through the heart of a volunteer that will make this world a better place. Remember, it is not what you have done, but what you are doing. I encourage you all to volunteer outside of your comfort zone and push yourself to be that exceptional person today that you will need in your life tomorrow. Just as Deepak Chopra said, “I embrace the unknown because it allows me to see new aspects of myself.” This being said, say yes to the challenge and empower yourselves. Make this personal life changing commitment.

Outgoing ICC BOT Chair

Sanjay Maggirwar‘ s Remarks

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, and all the hard-working volunteers, I wish to thank our members for their strong support to the ICC activities and events, including a wide range of major renovations and upgrades of the facilities completed successfully during last year. I like to thank the Board of Trustees of 2015 for their time, hard work and dedication due to which we were able to execute the events successfully and ensure the effective functioning of the ICC. During this time, in addition to the full slate of cultural, educational and holiday events, the ICC undertook the expansion of the existing storage shed and gave a facelift to the exterior of the building by replacing the building lights with brighter energy efficient LED lights, installing the ground lights and the pre-cast concrete car bumpers in the upper parking lot. I thank the ICC members and HHSC for the donations, which made these up-grades possible. Finally, I wish to congratulate Dr. Ramnik Vora for his election as our new Chair, he has been actively involved in the community and the ICC over the years. I know that the ICC will greatly benefit from his experience, vision and leadership skills. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Vora and wish him best of luck in his endeavors.

8 India Community Newsletter Back by popular demand, ICC celebrated the wonderful moms of the community on Saturday, May 7th. Total of 34 moms and families were pampered with delicious brunch, and entertainment, which included music and dance performed by our kids.

Special made-to-order omelets were prepared by Chefs Abhas Kumar as well as Asheesh and Ishaan Srivastava. Delicious Vada Paav were made by Sandhya Sarlashkar and Shruti Pandya. Mouth watering Upma was made by Jyothsna Ponnuri and Ila Vora, and waffles were expertly made by Nilesh Patel. The salubrious brunch was complemented by fresh fruits especially prepared by Jose Maliakal and Ramnik Vora, and mango lassi was lovingly made by Mrs. Purnima Pandya and Mrs. Khanmani Chidambaram.

Students from Saaz School of Music serenaded moms with songs taught by their teacher, Rujuta Dholakia, and students of Bharata School of Indian Dance and Music performed a dance choreographed by their teacher, Parvatha Chidambaram.

Mother’s Day Celebration By Shruti Pandya


2016 High School Graduation Celebration

Friday June 10, 2016, 6pm – 9pm at ICC

Admission and Dinner: Free

Who should attend:

2016 HS Graduates, HS/Middle School Students Parents & Friends

Dress: Business Casual

Panel Discussion

HS Preparation, Majors, Career Choices, College Life

Program 6.00 pm: Dinner

6.45 pm: Recognition of 2016 HS Graduates 7pm: Panelists’ Presentations

8pm: Q&A

RSVP (Required)

For information and RSVP Contact: Jayanti Venkataraman 585-461-1817

Lakshmi Rao: 585-442-3552

10 India Community Newsletter Panelist: Venkatesh Ramkumar

Venkatesh Ramkumar is currently a freshman at the University of Delaware studying Biomedical Engineering. He is involved in Division One tennis also at the University. Venkatesh is interested in either pursuing a Medical Degree to become a doctor, or looking to work in a Biomedical Engineering company. He is also very

interested in working in the sports medicine field. As a graduate of Pittsford Mendon High School, in high school, he was primarily involved in varsity tennis as well as attending football and basketball games. He also plays the Indian drums (table) and sings vocal Indian music. Venkatesh follows the NFL and likes to work out in his spare time. Parents: S.Manian and Hema Ramkumar Presentation Topic: Excess Stress to Success Panelist: Akhila Sunkara

Akhila is a 2010 graduate from Brighton High School. Upon graduation, she wanted to pursue a career in medicine and decided to go India to earn her Medical degree. She graduated from NRI Medical College this past March of 2016. While in India, she took part in various community service projects including educating

rural villages about medical education. To further spread the importance of preventive medicine, she helped organize several medical camps in rural areas, and took part in government run campaigns. Being in India for the past 6 years has strengthened her love for India's rich and beautiful culture. Akhila is currently preparing for her board exams to apply for residency. Parents: Ram Sunkara and Pushpa Sunkara Presentation Topic: An unpaved path

Panelist: Mandira Talwar

Mandira Talwar is currently a sophomore at Cornell University. She is majoring in Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) with an interest in social and health policy. Her career objective is to use her policy, statistic, and economic tools in data analytics, with the hopes of creating more effective government policies,

especially regarding inequality. Outside of her studies, Mandira is on the board for Cornell Alternative Breaks, Cornell's Student Enterprise Association, and Cornell's Women of Color Conference and is also a member of Cornell's Roosevelt Insitute and the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. Parents: Arti and Sanjiv Talwar Presentation Topic: Inviting Myself In Event Sponsor: Rohit Rao

Rohit works at Google in Washington, DC. He graduated from Brighton High School in 2000 and earned dual undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Math from MIT and MS in Computer Science from MIT. Rohit lives in D.C. with his wife Alison Rao, also a graduate of MIT. In 2008, he served

as one of the panelists for this event. He was thrilled to be part of the program and has become a sponsor of this annual event so that other students can benefit from the panel discussion. Parents: Dr. Lakshmi Rao and Dr. Hemant Rao

Panel Discussion on HS Preparation, Majors, Career Choices, College Life

June 10, 6-9pm

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