United Asian NetworkAnanya Pal and Salim Amin joined hands with UAN to showcase their historical work regarding the tales to tell from the diaspora that came to Kenya in the early 1920s up to Independence.
This Holi weekend in Nairobi, audience went down memory lane from their grassroots, India to their adopted motherland, Kenya. This captivating evening, titled “Tales to Tell” left an indelible impression on young and old.
Ananya Pal and Salim Amin joined hands with UAN to showcase their historical work regarding the tales to tell from the diaspora that came to Kenya in the early 1920s up to Independence.
This trio combination was well received and the audience were left wanting more of education (what happened to Kohli?), entertainment (when is the next performance?) and entitlement (what is my grandparent’s story?)
The evening began with registration, networking and welcoming of all the Sponsors including Elgon Kenya, Prime Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Hotpoint Appliances. Other prominent guests included former P.S. Dr. Kevit Desai (grandson of Mr. Manilal Desai), Mr. Manmit Singh Jabbal (grandson of freedom fighter Makhan Singh) and Mr. Ushir Chandaria (son of Dhanji Chandaria).
There was also a special message of support for the event and this historical work from High Commissioner of India, Ms. Namgya C. Khampa, High Commissioner and PR to UNEP & UN-Habitat. In the audience Capt. V. Shirdikant- (Defense Advisor) High Commission of India was also present.
Emcee, Meera Pandit commanded the podium and kept the audience updated and intrigued on the upcoming performances and guests. As CEO of Asian Foundation, she made a special mention of the wonderful video played by Salim Amin that was produced together with Asian Foundation and Camerapix and recorded historical incidents and anecdotes by living legends.
Chairman of UAN, Dr. Bimal Kantaria was sincerely encouraged by the large turnout and positive curiosity towards UAN. He gave a brief history of the organization’s beginning and brought them to the current status, which included jointly doing such productions to increase cohesiveness amongst the communities apart from economic empowerment.
The event’s pioneer, is Ananya Pal and she is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has worked in reputed MNCs for several years, currently pursuing her own consultancy in Nairobi. Creative writing is her passion. She writes in the genres of Historical fiction, thriller, comedy, and travelogues in Bengali and English. She has nine published books both in English and Bengali. She writes scripts and directs stage plays, Dance dramas, short films and musical shows. ‘A Mysterious Affair in Amboseli’ is her ninth and latest book in the genre of psychological thriller.
Tales to Tell has been close to her heart because she believes in the documentation and celebration of what happened, when and by who? Thus, the animation film, “The Adventures of Kohli” received a resounding applause because of the brilliant storytelling, professional animation and cliff hanger ending. Mr. Alakh Kohli was extremely proud to share his great grandfather’s story through this animation. Ananya shared several examples of other ancestors and held the audience mesmerized on who they have missed to recognize and yet they contributed so much to Kenya’s success.
There was certainly increased Kenyan pride that followed when famous Chairman of Camerapix, Founder and Chairman of The Mohamed Amin Foundation, and Founder of A24 Media, Mr. Salim Amin presented his father’s work. Mohamed Amin MBE (29 August 1943 – 23 November 1996) was a Kenyan photojournalist.
Amin’s filming of Michael Buerk’s report of the 1984 Ethiopian famine brought international attention to the crisis and eventually helped start the charity wave that resulted in Live Aid concerts. Amin died in November 1996 when his flight Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was hijacked and crashed into the Indian Ocean near Grande Comore. (Source: Wikipedia)
There was excellent entertainment provided by dancers representing North and South India. There was a musical drama titled ‘Bitein dino ki yaad mein’. This was a musical representation of the past when our ancestors came to Kenya and the cultural integration that united the community to survive as one in this foreign land. The dances were Garba, representing West of India, Bhangra from North and Kavadi Chindu, a tamil folk will represent Southern region. Dhruv Shah stole the limelight in the performance as the messenger man for the musical drama and had the special guests stand up and dance to bhangra.
Finally the evening closed with a special vote of thanks by Vice Chairman, Dr. Amit Thakker. He summarized the evening’s activities and recognized the special guests in the audience and was grateful to the support extended by the Sponsors and UAN Members. Ultimately he reminded the audience why supporting and becoming a UAN member was integral to preserving our history.
For further information:
Mobile: 0722 974189
Email: harleen@uan.co.ke
Website: www.uan.co.ke
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