Page 16 - Hakoba Times

16 The Indian Eye | NORTH AmERIcAN Newsline | JUNE 12, 2020

“ChAlu rAkh, prABir… “deep in his soul And Blood,

do not hAng the phone” he hAd pAssion for the Community”

hese words are still ringing in
my ears. He always used to in-
Ttroduce me as a twin tower of
FIA to everyone.
In the early 70’s, all Indian activi-
ties, be cultural or political we used to
get together and discuss at the foot-
steps of Earl Hall, Columbia Univer-
sity. FIA was not born at that time.
Me, Himangshu, Thomas Abra-
ham and a few others from Indian
Center of CU were discussing to form one Indian Association
where all the Indian State’s organization in Tri-state area can
work together. During that period, I met Ramesh and Suresh-
war P. Singh.

late 70’s fiA was formed. ramesh brought lot of young

people and regional organizations along with him make amesh Patel, deep in his soul and blood, had passion for
community life. He nurtured it, indoctrinated many with
the fiA vibrant. day by day he became very vocal. he Rexciting stories of parade activities and community life that

was very positive and always yes personality. Along acted like a tonic to those who had left behind close relatives in
the country of their birth India and wanted to pay tribute to their
with mono sen of Jersey City, we demonstrated against beloved motherland from whom they had separated voluntarily
while settling down in the richest, most powerful and most dynam-
the dot Buster issue. ic country of their dreams America where they were struggling to
settle down three or four decades ago. Ramesh Patel relished every
People were afraid to come out but he had courage to bring moment of his journey into community life. He spent more time in
the people out. We travelled together to Washington DC many community life than his work life. He talked with emotions about
times to stop AWACS sales to Pakistan. Jointly organized Sena- community activities that overpowered his thoughts. He was a jem
tor Larry Pressler’s meeting with Indian Communities. of a leader in Gujarati community and would discover common
Pressler Amendment Act which triggered action against Pa- roots with other Gujaratis, no matter which route they had taken
kistan as a terrorist-harboring country. Our friendship and ac- to come to America. He devoted his life and made it a mission to
tivities for betterment of India rapidly grew and to facilitate his take India Day Parade to the meteoric heights by making it the
request I had to share my Office space for FIA in Astoria for a largest gathering of Indians outside India. India Day Parade also
long period. attained the status of one of the largest parades in New York City.
FIA cannot do lobbying activities, but from our office we With a heavy heart, we say good bye to Ramesh Patel. Every-
ran lobbying work throughout USA for India. In this effort In- body is going to leave this world one day and leave his or her histo-
der Sing from CA and Swadesh Chatterjee of North Carolina ry behind. To the family Mrs Suchetabhen Patel and children Dr.
joined us. Myself and Ramesh and hard-core members of FIA Suhas, Mrs Gunjal, Mrs Manisha and their families I will say that
used to meet in my office 3 to 4 times a week and communicate their husband and father played a very exceptional role and it was a
with the then Ambassador Siddarth S Ray to engage Congress- life very well spent in the service of Community and humanity that
men and Senators becoming ‘Friends of India’. served many causes over three decades. May his soul Rest in Peace
As a result, India Caucus at Washington DC bloomed. Help- and the community will always remember what he has achieved
ing a Punjabi guy who got shot by a Pakistani man in our pa- for the Indian community in America. It was a history created in
rade, the Latur Earthquake and many more events which I can America to celebrate the values of freedom and liberty for which
write on and on where Ramesh’s contribution was immense. India and her people struggled for centuries, sacrificed many lives
We respected each other. Many a times, I confronted him but to attain democratic way of life so that each person could realize
Ramesh never yelled at me or said no to me. He had a soft corner their own potential, chase their own dreams, follow their own
on me. pursuits and be happy. To that end, Indian Parade in America will
He accomplished a lot but failed to groom a person from the always be a guiding force to us to become good citizens of Amer-
next generation to hold the torch. ica because both democracies share essentially the same common
Now it’s my turn to say: “Hey my twin tower friend Ramesh, goals of peace and prosperity.
phone toh chalu rakh”. My wife Usha joins me in sharing your family’s loss which is also
our loss and everyone else’s loss too.
prabir roy, dr. parveen Chopra
former president fiA president fiA 1987

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