1st July 2025
Pan-India mega star Allu Arjun to lead annual India Day Parade in New York

Pan-India mega star Allu Arjun to lead annual India Day Parade in New York

by | Jul 19, 2022 | Entertainment

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Pan-India mega star Allu Arjun, who starred in blockbuster ‘Pushpa’, will lead the annual India Day Parade here next month organised by a leading Indian diaspora organisation as India marks 75th year of Independence.

The Federation of Indian Associations – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have planned grand events in the coming weeks and months to celebrate India’s 75 years of Independence – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

FIA President Kenny Desai announced that the Grand Marshal at the 40th India Day Parade on August 21 this year will be Arjun, the Telugu superstar whose movies have been a hit across India.

Desai also announced details of the grand events planned by FIA in the coming weeks and months to celebrate India’s 75 years of Independence.

Renowned artists Shankar Mahadevan and Kailash Kher will lead the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations planned by FIA, the organisation announced during its 4th Parade Council meeting. At this year’s parade, FIA said attempts will be made to set the Guinness World Records for the ‘Most Different Flags Flown simultaneously’ and the ‘Largest Ensemble Damaru.’

Arjun, as the Grand Marshal, will lead the parade along with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and a host of other distinguished dignitaries and celebrities. The FIA India Day parade is considered the largest parade outside India to mark the country’s independence and brings together thousands of members of the diaspora for one of the biggest cultural extravaganzas in the US.

The annual cultural extravaganza, which had also faced disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, runs through several streets of Madison Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, featuring tableaux by various Indian-American organisations, marching bands, police contingents and cultural performances by young Indian-American children.

FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya welcomed the announcement of Arjun as FIA’s 40th Grand Marshal and “complimented the mega star for his kindness and patriotism towards the motherland.” “There is palpable excitement in the Indian-American community to welcome the popular superstar and FIA will ensure he feels at home in the US,” Vaidya said.

Desai voiced appreciation for FIA committee for its work and efforts and said he is proud to be part of the team which has been working tirelessly round the clock to put together this event of massive proportion.

Every year, thousands of people from the Indian diaspora converge in the heart of Manhattan in their traditional finery to celebrate India’s Independence Day. The day-long celebration includes special food stalls, cultural extravaganza and floats by various Indian organisations based in the US.

Popular celebrities and artists from India are invited every year as chief guests and grand marshals for the parade. In previous years, actors Arjun Rampal, Abhishek Bachchan, Baahubali actors Rana Daggubati and Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunny Deol and Raveena Tandon have attended the parade.

Biden nominated Indian American attorney Vijay Shanker to DC Court of Appeals with seven others

Biden nominated Indian American attorney Vijay Shanker to DC Court of Appeals with seven others

by | Jul 18, 2022 | Indian-American

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President Joe Biden has nominated Indian American attorney Vijay Shanker to DC Court of Appeals with seven others in the 23rd round of judicial nominees to federal and local courts.

The District of Columbia (DC) Court of Appeals is the highest court of the American capital of Washington, DC. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court.

Shanker currently is the Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section in the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, where he has worked since 2005.

He was previously Counselor and Acting Deputy Chief of Staff to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division and Senior Litigation Counsel in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section at the Department of Justice.

Shanker was an associate at Mayer Brown from 2004 to 2005 and at Covington & Burling from 1999 to 2000 and 2001 to 2004.

He served as a law clerk for Judge Chester J. Straub on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2000 to 2001.

Shanker received his JD, Order of the Coif, from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1999 and his BA, cum laude, from Duke University in 1994.

Describing all the nominees as “extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution,” a White House announcement Thursday said this brings the number of Biden’s announced federal judicial nominees to 123.

“These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” it said.

President Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he continues to move rapidly to fill judicial vacancies, the White House said.

And he has won confirmation of the most lower court judges for the first year of a presidency since the Kennedy Administration, it said.

Indian American Tiara Abraham of California Graduates From UC Davis at Age 16

Indian American Tiara Abraham of California Graduates From UC Davis at Age 16

by | Jul 16, 2022 | Community, Indian-American

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Soprano singer Tiara Abraham began her college career at age 7 in a community college. Last week, the 16-year-old Indian American from Sacramento, California, graduated from UC Davis with her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance.

“This is just one step of my journey,” Abraham told local television KCRA 3 after she received her diploma. “I’ve been able to overcome all that, just proving myself, that I’ve been able to just perform with great technique and here I am.”

As a parting gift to her now alma mater, she sang the National Anthem and “Hail to California” during graduation ceremonies. With a 4.0 average, she is now headed to Indiana University for graduate studies in music.

Tiara, who graduated high school at 13, has been training in Western classical music since she was 7, and released her first album “Winter Nightingale” at age 10. Last April, she wowed a crowd of more than 25,000 when she sang the national anthem at a San Francisco Giants game. She was recognized for her musical talent at the Global Child Prodigies 2020 in New Delhi in January, in which there were 100 child prodigies from 18 countries. She has won the Premio Internazionale Giuseppe Sciacca Musica Award at the Vatican and her voice has led her to perform twice at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.

But it’s not only singing that Abraham excels in. At age 4, she scored 99 percentile on the test and became a member of Mensa, a prestigious high-IQ society. After her KG, Tiara joined her brother, Tanishq Abraham in the home-schooled tradition when she found school not fun and challenging.
The siblings’ parents — Bijou Abraham, a software engineer and Taji Abraham, a veterinarian and researcher — have encouraged her unusual musical talent, including diction, from an early age.

In 2018, her brother Tanishq became the youngest engineer to graduate from UC Davis at age 15.

Indian-American Sahith Theegala endears himself to everyone with his brand of golf and smile

Indian-American Sahith Theegala endears himself to everyone with his brand of golf and smile

by | Jul 16, 2022 | Indian-American, Sports

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There is no Indian at the 150th Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews. But the Indians who had come to milestone Major gladly embraced an Indian American, who has paid back that adulation in more than ample measure. His brand of fearless golf, the shot making skills and a disarming smile and demeanour will keep bringing in tons of fans.

Sahith Theegala, 24, whose parents are of Indian origins, shot 69-68 and at 7-under for 36 holes he was up there in Top-10.

Asked how he had felt so far, “Yeah, I’ve just had a ton of fun, even the last two days being on the course. It’s a blast. Major championship golf is insane. On top of it, to be here is doubly insane.”

He loves every moment of his life, and it shows in his golf.

Theegala, who has missed winning at least two PGA Tour titles by the slenderest of margins and almost at the post, was not even in the field 10 days ago. Yet, he had made up his mind to come to St. Andrews for the 150th edition of the Open, to play which he was ready to give an arm and more.

“I was here nine, ten years ago,” said one of the rising stars on the PGA Tour, where he’s twice come close to landing a maiden victory this season.

“I played Carnoustie, and I’m like this is the hardest course I ever played. I birdied 18 to break 90, shot 89. But these conditions are so firm, so much fun. I love it.”

Theegala, whose father moved from India to the US in 1987, sits six shots off the lead in the season’s final major after opening with rounds of 69-68.

He only got into the field due to withdrawals. “To get that call and not be an alternate, to relieve some of the anxiety, it was awesome,” he admitted.

“Especially because of the magnitude of the event and not only my first Open, but St Andrews, the 150th.

“So I was very, very excited. It honestly took me a couple days to kind of settle down here. I got here, and I was almost too excited.

“I was walking the course on Monday even, and I wasn’t really focusing in paying attention on the prep work. I’ve just had a ton of fun, even the last two days being on the course. It’s a blast.”

He’s particularly enjoying the challenge of facing monster putts on the huge double greens on the Old Course. “I love it, absolutely love it. It’s the best. You don’t get to do this anywhere else,” he said, smiling.

Indian-American Naureen Hassan named President of UBS Americas and CEO of UBS Americas Holding

Indian-American Naureen Hassan named President of UBS Americas and CEO of UBS Americas Holding

by | Jul 16, 2022 | Community, Indian-American

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A prominent Indian-American finance executive, Naureen Hassan, has been appointed President of UBS Americas and CEO of UBS Americas Holding, according to the Switzerland-based financial giant.

Currently, Hassan is the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY). She will also be serving on UBS Group’s Executive Board, according to a press release by UBS Americas.

Hassan will join in the leadership role in October this year and will succeed Tom Naratil, the Zurich and Basel-headquartered company said in a press release.

UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland.

Co-headquartered in the cities of Zurich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world.

She will become a member of UBS’s Group Executive Board in October 2022. Hassan this week stepped down from her role as the First Vice- President and Chief Operating Officer at The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she was the New York Fed’s second-ranking officer.

UBS said in a statement that in her new role, Hassan will be responsible for driving client relationships, promoting cross-business collaboration, navigating the evolving public policy landscape, and ensuring sound regulatory and reputational risk governance.

In addition, she will lead the firm’s strategic growth and digital initiatives in the Americas region, including the transformation of the firm’s Wealth Management Americas Platform, expansion of digitally customised banking services, implementation of the Wealthfront acquisition upon closure, and the rollout of UBS Circle One in the region.

Prior to joining the FRBNY, Hassan was the chief digital officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management where she was responsible for the business’s digital transformation.

Before Morgan Stanley, she was the executive vice president leading Investor Services strategy, segments and platforms at Charles Schwab Corporation and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

She also held various business transformation, strategy, and client experience leadership roles at Charles Schwab Corporation. She began her career at McKinsey & Company.

Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers said he is delighted to welcome Hassan to UBS as President of UBS Americas.

In a statement announcing her departure from The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Hassan said: “I have been so impressed with the incredible commitment of New York Fed employees and the great work that they do. It has been a privilege for me to have served alongside such dedicated public servants and to have contributed to the Bank’s mission.” Hassan, whose parents had immigrated from India, is a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry with expertise in strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and regulatory/risk management.

She holds a BA from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.