India Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton presents this year’s Holi festival at West Windsor Community Park on Saturday, April 18, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Holi, the festival of colors, is a unique experience where color, kites, fun, and food provide a backdrop to welcoming spring.
“We often hear about the United States of America as a melting pot where diversity can be a unifying factor,” says Bharat Sethi, treasurer of IFMP. “There are many such examples at multiple levels and amongst them is India Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton, IFMP. Since 1977 IFMP has been involved in bringing community together and promoting harmony through, cultural, social, and musical events. Each year has been a step towards creating more awareness, but this year has brought in a new surge with a bigger vision with new leadership and a lot of enthusiastic committee members volunteering their free time to ensure that the Indian culture, traditions, and values are passed on to the next generation.”
Sanjay Phanse, a resident of West Windsor for more than 20 years, is the newly elected president of IFMP. He is an IT and management consultant. He led the organization to announce scholarships for graduating students in High Schools North and South, as well as East Windsor High School. The scholarship will be offered to students who, besides being good at academics are also involved with community service. Committee members also include Bharti Shroff, vice president; Priya Sundarraman, secretary; and Gaurav Tyagi, as joint secretary.
The IFMP youth group has provided music and dance programs to entertain elders in the rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. “I wish we could explain the joy in some audience members who clapped and tapped from their wheel chairs, and it even made someone try playing guitar with shaking hands,” says Sethi. “It is all voluntary where kids learn the joy of getting by giving, once again nurturing the spirit of better citizenship.”
IFMP has also been involved with aiding in national and international events, including organizing musicals to collect money for people impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the tsunami that impacted Japan. The youth groups have raised funds to sponsor schools in remote tribal villages in India where the children have no access to primary education, helping the cause to eradicate illiteracy from India.
Annual events include a picnic in late summer and Navratri with garba and dandia music and dance in autumn. The annual function of IFMP is a dance program where more than 200 kids of all ages present their talent.
“With all these cultural and social events, IFMP is quietly playing a subtle role in bringing community together,” says Sethi. “Going forward, there are many plans and we are already discussing the launch of a senior group.”
Spring Celebration, India Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton, West Windsor Community Park, 176 Princeton-Hightstown Road, West Windsor. Saturday, April 18, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Celebrate the Indian festivals of Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi, Ugadi, and Holi. Kites, water balloons, live music, henna, and refreshments. Rain or shine. Wear white or clothing that may gain Holi colors. Bring your own gulal (Holi color). Register. $10. 609-865-3873. www.ifmpnj.org.
