On July 17, 2018 at the Burlington Marriott, over 120 friends, family members and the New England-based Indian-American Institutions gathered to celebrate a momentous occasion – Mr. Neil Sherring was appointed Judge to the Massachusetts Housing Court, the first Indian-American in the Commonwealth to hold this seat.  

Neil Sherring is the son of the Late Professor Albert Sherring and Late Dr. Asha Sherring who were great community leaders with a large circle of friends in the Indian American community. On hearing the news of Neil’s achievement, Puran Dang reached out to close friends of Neil’s parents and the idea for this event was born.  Along with friends and family, the entire Indian-American community of organizations attended including leaders from Ekal Vidyalaya MITHAS  Hindi Manch , IAGB , Saheli , TV Asia , Shivalaya Temple , Indian-Americans of Lexington, Lokvani and IITAGNE.

Rachna Sharma was the MC of the event, and opened by congratulating Judge Neil on this “memorable, remarkable and momentous achievement.”  She spoke for the entire community in saying, “You have wowed us and filled each of us with sense of pride.” Puran Dang spoke of  Neil’s parents and noted that “they are watching and bestowing their blessings from above.”  Sushil Tuli reminisced about his friendship with Neil going back thirty years, sharing stories about their work together.  Harish Dang noted that “every parent dreams of their kid doing better than them” and Kidar Vaid gave a thoughtful speech replete with Urdu poetry to celebrate the occasion.  Jitender Sharma, whose daughters grew up with Neil’s wife, Yoshika, shared similar sentiments and felicitations.  Both Chander and Onaly Kapasi spoke about the cherished memories of Neil’s parents and presented him with a framed photograph.  Songs from Kum Kum Dilwale and Binita Dang added to the occasion.  Both Kamlesh Dang and Shyama Dayal gave their blessings to Neil and presented him with an engraved clock on behalf of the community.  Shiv Kapuria graced the presentation of the gift with his presence and kind words for Neil.  

Neil’s son, Vijay shared a memorable video of Neil and his family covering various phases of Neil’s life. The exemplary food was provided by Vishal Sood of Gourmet India and flawless sound was managed by Javed Wahed. 

Puran Dang expressed that this event would not have been possible without the help of his friends Sushil Tuli, Pramod Handa, Shiv Kapuria, Harish Dang, Yogesh Dayal, Kaplesh Kumar, Kidar Vaid, Tikam Matai, Jitender Sharma, Shanta Shewakramani, Chander Kapasi and several others.  

Neil’s in-laws, Mr. & Mrs. BD Nayak were present for the occasion and his sister-in-law, Taniya Nayak talked about how she always knew that Neil wanted to be a judge and emotionally recounted what someone told her that day with pride, that “Neil belongs to all of us” saying that he was “there for everybody all the time.” In a moving and emotional speech, Neil’s sister, Asha, thanked her parents for instilling in them a “sense of hard work, education and social responsibility”.  She quoted Barack Obama in saying there was an empathy deficit in the world, and was confident that Neil would bring the same “strength, fairness and justice” in the courtroom and with friends and family.  

Neil captured the many emotions he felt throughout the day in his speech and thanked the community for turning out to celebrate his achievement.  He explained his journey of becoming a judge, thanked Governor Baker and the many people in the legal community who took him through that journey, and especially the support he received from his entire family including, wife, Yoshika, sons Vijay and Curren, his in-laws and sister’s family.  In closing, Neil said “I used to be a young person.  You’ll always see me as that young person, but there are many young people in our community, and I want them to look at me and say, “I can follow my dreams”.

Yogesh Dayal closed the event with a memorable vote of thanks.  The theme of the afternoon seems to have been about achieving one’s dreams, long-standing friendships, and a sense of social responsibility interspersed with music, some poetry, great food and creating a truly unique event that was the hallmark of what Neil grew up with in his own family.