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Raj Bhanot & Jairam Komati collaborate diverse organizations to mold AIA

It was early last year when Raj Bhanot felt the need to augment an ongoing yearly cultural event session under one umbrella in and around Santa Clara.

“There is no such event in Santa Clara County and people from here have to travel several miles to attend any huge cultural event. So we thought we will bring this together for the convenience of the people here,” said Raj Bhanot founder member of the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple.

After speaking to several people who loved the idea, he approached Jairam Komati, a community activist and owner of Swagat Restaurants.

“Jairam is a very genuine, honest and approachable person. He is extremely modest and a community man,” Bhanot explained further. “He immediately liked the idea.”

A strategic goal in the building of this organization titled Association of Indo Americans (AIA)is to bring together several regional organization under one umbrella and showcase the beauty and divergence of Indian languages and cultures.

“It’s also about our people and communities and not one or two individuals,” Said Bhanot.

AIA will bring out several cultural events throughout the year but will stay away from religious events. Events such as Holi, Diwali, Garba and Dance/Music festivals will be celebrated and promoted. It is meant for all Indians and any all ethnic communities with no religious boundaries. This upcoming event on Oct 16 will have fireworks and Ravan Dahan as highlights.

“It will be a must see event,” promised Bhanot.

Others who worked hard to bring AIA together include Vijaya Aasuri, Surjit Sen Gupta, Tina Bhanot, Prasad Mangina, Jeevan Zutshi, Mahesh Patel, Jassi Bharwad, Pretty Kang and Archana Panda.