Indo American News

Tag: christmas

  • Indians Celebrate 7th Hamara Desi Christmas

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    STAFFORD: Houston’s one and only Indian Christmas celebration was hosted last saturday, December 20, at the Stafford Civic Center. As always the auditorium was packed to an audience of an awe inspiring program by Houston Indian Fellowship.

    The Houston Indian Fellowship (HIF), a group of Indians from across the metropolitan Houston area, conducts an annual Christmas Celebration to share the joy and cheer of Christmas with Indians in Houston from different walks of faith in addition to other events such as cricket championships and painting competitions in order to bring the community together for a time of fun. They also provide free health care for the needy.

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    The admission for the event was free and it was followed by complimentary dinner for all the attendees.  The dinner was catered by the acclaimed Annam Indian Cuisine.

    HIF, by hosting this event and providing free health care to the needy, strives to bring Christmas cheer to people from different faiths and regions of India.

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    Texas House Representative, Rick Miller, graced the occasion as the chief guest of the event. His simple speech with the underlying message of the true meaning of Christmas deeply moved the audience.

    This year’s celebration included the Life Story of Jesus, a themed presentation including skits, songs and Bollywood-style dances, portraying the real meaning of Christmas.  The event kicked off with a beautiful dance to the tune of the famous number Jingle bells followed by a Bollywood-style dance by students from the University of Houston. The audience was even given a small lesson on ‘Dancing Bollywood style’.

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    The children of HIF enacted the Nativity scene, a drama with beautiful costumes, re-telling the story of the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. The stage was overflowing with vibrant colors as a variety of classical Indian dances and songs telling of God’s Love were presented. A beautiful rendition of the miracle of Jesus feeding 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes was presented as a dance to the song “Paanch Roti” by Anil Kant. The highlight of the event was an awe inspiring enactment of the Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus – the true reason for and meaning of Christmas.

    The audience was clinging to the edges of their seats as HIF performed these programs. The message behind this performance was to show that the real meaning of the Birth of Jesus is in the redemption of mankind on the Cross by the Love of God. Christopher Deepak wrapped up the event with a succinct Christmas message that showed the Love of God and the true joy of Christmas to the audience.

    Shirley Israel a member of the Houston Indian fellowship awarded the winners of the painting competition. Samsung tablets were given to the first prize winners in each category and the second prize winners were given a gift card.

    Finally everyone in the audience joined Santa and the HIF team to the dance number ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ in sharing Christmas joy and Cheer. The boisterous MC Sharon Samuel hosted this year’s event with elegance and grace.

    The audience was raving about the event. “Wow! This is the best Desi event I have been to in the Houston area! A well organized and well catered event. The programs were crisp, clear and professional’.

    Reuben Joseph,  one of the coordinators said ‘We come together and pool our talents to come up with an enjoyable event! this gives us a wonderful experience and we have a lot of fun doing it’. Deepak Israel,  a member of HIF proudly stated, “This event brings an opportunity to celebrate the Christmas Season of joy and cheer with fellow Indians who come from different walks of faith. He said to ‘Expect a greater and bigger event next year!’  Dr. Robello Samuel, integral member of HIF, said “Seeing the joy of Christmas on the faces of the audience gives me great satisfaction as that is the whole idea behind the celebration!”

    The sponsors for this event were Red Oaks Hospital, Annam Indian Cuisine, New York Life and other individuals. The University of Houston students along with other families and friends helped behind the scenes – all of which helped make this celebration a memorable one.

    Houston Indian Fellowship would also like to invite anyone interested in performing or helping at the 8th annual Hamara Desi Christmas event scheduled for the 19th of December 2015 to please contact Dr. Robello Samuel at 832-275-8810 or Deepak Israel at 832-419-0967 or via email to info@hamaradesichristmas.org. You may also visit them at  www.hamaradesichristmas.org  

  • Club 65 Celebrates Christmas Early

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    By Dr. Jaseem Pasha

    HOUSTON: The Houstonian Seniors’ Club 65 hosted the third annual Christmas Party on December 6 at Bayland Community Center, at 6400 Bissonnet Street in Houston. It was indeed a fun filled afternoon.

    The members and the guests arrived on time. Many came in festive apparel, few even wore Santa’s red hat. The hall was packed. There was an air of exuberance, smiles and hugs. The tables looked colorful with Christmas figurines.
    The entire hall sprang into life as soon as Paru McGuire, the President of Club 65, took the microphone in her hand. They welcomed her with a big round of applause. Paru shared the highlights of the awaited program with the audience.

    Majid Soudagar sang a very old ghazal, full of impassioned poetry. Taiyeb Shipchandler, an esteemed member of the Club, “Kaka”, as he is called out of love and respect, sang a very beautiful old song.

    Mulik Sayeedi sang an old classic Indian heart-rending song, and as usual, shared few jokes that made everyone laugh.

    Uma Mantravadi, Attorney at Law, and Houston’s foremost sensational singer paired up with Nadeem Ashrafi, who is a singer and keyboard player. Nadeem has served desi music industry for more than three decades. He is well known for his Ghazals and versatile singing orchestration in many languages and has performed all over North America.

    Both Uma and Nadeem engaged the audience with old and new songs. The selection of melodious songs was sensational, ranging from romantic ecstasy and rapture to fast dancing melodies. They sang duets that were tender, touching, nostalgic and powerful, punctuated with frequent rounds of applause. Uma sang the famous Shah-e-Madina.

    Nothing prompts people to remember the past like music. Many from audience came to the floor and danced – and danced, as if there was no end to it, reminding us of an old Irish quote: “Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening.” Music does wash away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

    The event ran between 11 AM to 3:30 PM. The grand finale was the spiritual qawwali song “O Lal Meri Pat Rakhiyo Bala Jhule lalan – – -Dama Dam Mast Qalandar”

    Everyone had a good time, socializing, singing and dancing, and relishing the delicious food. There was gift exchanges. Noor Jahan called out the names of the guests who chose from the colorful packaged gifts, which created a lot of excitement. It was a very successful event.

    Club 65 is a non-profit organization under the umbrella of IMAGH (Indian Muslims of Greater Houston). To find out more about Club 65 or to become a member, visit, www.imagh.org or call Paru Mcguire at 440-390-1763.

  • Indians to Celebrate 7th Hamara Desi Christmas : A Free Event

    Hamara in

    STAFFORD: Are you wondering why Old Stafford Civic Center is going to be packed on December 20? You guessed it right! It is the 7th annual Hamara Desi Christmas Celebration! As always it is going to be a sold-out FREE event and every attendee will be left with a bit of Christmas joy in their hearts.

    This event is hosted by the Houston Indian Fellowship (HIF), a group of Indians from across the metropolitan Houston area. HIF strives to bring Christmas cheer to people from different faiths and regions of India. HIF also conducts winter cricket championships, painting competitions for the children in the community and provides free health care to the needy through Red Oaks Hospital.

    The theme of this year’s event is ‘Unity Through Good News’.  The celebration includes traditional and non-traditional programs ranging from skits, dances, songs and this year’s chief guest will be Texas Representative, Rick Miller! The admission for the event is FREE followed by free dinner catered by the acclaimed Annam Indian Cuisine. Santa Claus is also planning on making a quick stop at the Celebration!

    Deepak Israel, a member of HIF, proudly stated, “This event is growing every year as more and more Indians hear about it! We are going to fill the Old Stafford Civic Center to maximum occupancy this year!” The excitement is definitely contagious as Reuben Joseph the lead coordinator of HIF said, “Seeing the joy of Christmas on the faces of the audience gives me great satisfaction as that is the whole idea behind this celebration!”

    The sponsors for this event were Red Oaks Hospital, Sagemont Church, Annam Indian Cuisine, Vonage, MetLife, HIF, and other individuals. University of Houston students along with other families will be helping behind the scenes.

    Houston Indian Fellowship would also like to invite anyone interested in performing or helping at the 7th annual Hamara Desi Christmas event to please contact Dr. Robello Samuel at 832-275-8810 or Deepak Israel at 832-419-0967 or Reuben Joseph 713-480-0473.

    Hamara Desi Christmas is the ONLY Desi Christmas celebration in the Houston area, so make sure you come out for an evening of fun and entertainment!