About: Kanwal

The Friends of India Society is run by volunteers, with the mission to preserve and promote the rich Indian cultural heritage through various events in the South Jersey region. It also aims to empower youth to be responsible citizens of the community.

Friends of India Society is actively involved in the community and has donated $83,861 since year 2009 to various charities in USA and India.

Yogesh Thakur, one of the founding members of the society talks to us about the organization, its inception, the work it does and now the upcoming event – which is also their signature event, the “Annual Kite and Color Festival”. So, yes, incase you missed Holi or the Kite festival, or are counting days till next year, you have another chance for a 2 in 1 celebration – just around the corner – to know more, tune – in for this conversation with Yogesh Thakur, today, the 7th of June, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold, today – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

A direct descendant and proponent of one of the most treasured lineages of eastern classical music, sitarist Hidayat Husain Khan is the youngest son of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan, globally acclaimed as the greatest of all sitarists,

Hidayat Husain Khan harbors a rare, creative brilliance that effortlessly takes him across all genres and nuances of music. An exquisite sitar player and vocalist well-versed in the ‘Gayaki ang’.

Hidayat Husain Khan has lent his versatility in several film score compositions and has performed in numerous classical and fusion concerts, independently and in collaboration with such illustrious musical names as, Ndugu Chancler, Ronnie Woods, Alicia Keys, Usher, Zakir Hussain, Pete Townshend, Will.I.Am, Jay Z and Darryl Jones.

Today, we take a journey back to his childhood days, of first picking up the sitar to mastering it, and much more about Indian Classical Music. We also talk about the concert, Mausiqui, scheduled to be held on 11th June, 7:30 PM – presented by Indo American Arts Council, and curated by Sunny Thakkar. Do listen- in to this conversation, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold, today – 6th June, at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Harikishan Giri Goswami, better known by his stage name Manoj Kumar, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic themes, and has been given the nickname Bharat Kumar. Among many awards to his credit, he is aso the recipient of a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards, in varied categories. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manoj_Kumar

This conversation is from many years back and it takes us further down the years as Manoj Kumar Sahaab recollects memories of his birth place, of a period which left a deep impact on him – reflections of which can be seen in many of his patriotic films – the time of India’s partition – of living in a refugee camp and finally making his way into Cinema.

Manoj Kumar Sahaab takes you through his period in the a narrative so beautiful, you could actually start visualizing each and every moment of history. Tune – in for sure, today 6th June, on our Hindi Radio Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Mr. Virendra Bansal is the Country Head of the US Operations of State Bank of India since July 2020, which includes its offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Washington DC. Prior to his present assignment, he was Chief Executive Officer, New York Branch since May 2019. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical) and has certification of AML/ KYC from Indian Institute of Bankers.

Mr.Bansal is a career banker with over 30 years’ experience with State Bank of India in India and outside. Having joined as a directly recruited Probationary Officer in 1990, Mr. Bansal has handled several important and crucial assignments in diverse areas of Credit, International Banking and Retail Banking.

His prior assignments include, Deputy General Manager & Relationship Manager at Corporate Accounts Group of State Bank of India at Mumbai where he managed relationship with some of the large corporates with aggregate credit exposure of USD 8.00 billion approx. His previous roles were Head (Trade) at London branch of State Bank of India and Branch Head of retail branch handling
high net worth customers.

In case you missed it earlier, do listen- in to this conversation, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, today as well, on MeraSangeet Gold, 3rd June, at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Anup Jalota, is an Indian singer, musician and actor best known for his contributions to the Bhajan genre of Indian Music. He is popularly known as the “Bhajan Samraat”. He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2012, by the Government of India.

Anup Jalota was born in Nainital, Uttrakhand and hails from the Sham Chowrasi Gharana of Punjab. He was educated in Lucknow’s Bhatkhande Music Institute. His father, Purshottam Das Jalota, was also a prominent Bhajan singer. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anup_Jalota

This conversation was recorded many years back – wherein we talk about Anup Jalota ji’s musical safar, about the various forms of music and much more.

Today, we bring to you, this conversation from our archives – incase you missed it earlier – tune -in for sure on 3rd June, on our Hindi Radio Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, was a popular Indian playback singer. He recorded songs in several languages.

KK began his career by singing for advertisement jingles, and made his film debut with an A.R. Rahman soundtrack. In 1999, he launched his debut album titled Pal. The songs “Pal” and “Yaaron” from the album Pal became very popular and are commonly used in school farewells. He has received six Filmfare Awards nominations, and a Filmfare Awards South.  Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KK_(singer)

He will always be remembered for his work and for the many popular songs that he rendered.

Rest in peace KK – you will continue to live on, in our hearts, through your music!!

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders held a virtual press conference raising concerns about the growing threat of gun violence, on Friday, 27th May.

State Senator Dr. Michelle Au, State Representative Sam Park and State Committee Member, Democratic Party of Georgia, Kannan Udayarajan addressed the conference.

Robert Peterson, whose mother, Yong Ae Yue, was murdered in the March 2021 mass shooting targeting Asian American women, was also present. Michael Webb, who said he is a gun owner and a hunter, shared his views during the conference. He is the husband of Xiaojie Tan, who was murdered in the March 2021 mass shooting targeting Asian American women.

Today we bring to you snippets from the press conference, once again, incase you missed it earlier – To listen in, please tune – in to on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, today, 31st May, on MeraSangeet Gold, at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also listen – in on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST.

We also look forward to your views, your opinion on this ever growing concern – write in for sure at [email protected]

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, better known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian singer, rapper, songwriter, actor and politician associated with Punjabi music and Punjabi cinema. He started his career as a songwriter for the song “License” by Ninja, and began his singing career on a duet song titled “G Wagon”.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu hailed from the village of Moosa in Mansa district of Punjab, India. He pursued his undergraduate course in Electrical Engineering from Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana in 2016. Thereafter, he moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He released his first song “G Wagon” while living there.

Moose Wala made his debut in Punjabi cinema in the film Yes I Am Student under his own production company Jatt Life Studios. On 3 December 2021, Moose Wala joined Congress for contesting the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidhu_Moose_Wala

Sidhu Moose Wala would have been a year older on 11 June, but that was not be. Rest in peace – Sidhu Moose Wala – gone too soon – May God give all the strength to his family and loved ones…

The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India.

IAAC aims to help artists and art organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists from India to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. For information, please visit www.iaac.us.

A few days from now, on 11th of June, the Indo – American Arts council presents, Mausiqui. So, save the dates for sure.

For Tickets, please visit, https://bit.ly/mausiquipremium and
https://bit.ly/mausiqui. The special discount code is Mausiqui15

Anshu Jamsenpa is an Indian mountaineer and the first woman in the world to scale the summit of Mount Everest twice in a season. She is from Bomdila, headquarters of West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, She was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.

Anshu has definitely made all us Indians proud. We talk to her about the moment of victory, and she says the first time around, it was a very emotional moment for her. The second time on…she could just feel everything around her…so beautiful…so magical, and that she felt she was very close to God…

So come feel the great Mt. Everest with Anshu – yet again, as we take you a few years back – to this conversation from our archives – incase you missed it earlier – tune -in today, 16th May, on our Hindi Radio Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST