For the first time, the Milan Cultural Association Inc, a local organization of people of Indian origin in Connecticut, organized a Walk-A-Thon and “Glimpse of India” on Saturday, Sept.25, 2004 at the Riverfront Plaza in downtown Hartford.  Mr. Suresh Sharma, of Milan, and Jaya Ganta of The Hartford Courant conceived, planned and organized this unique event for our community.

As soon as Mr. Sharma saw a few advertisements by some well-known charity organizations in the local newspapers seeking for funds to help hungry children here in Connecticut, he conceived the idea of having a Walk-A-Thon for the community.  Milan soon joined hands with the Hartford Courant, the leading regional daily news paper in the New England states.  Courant was represented by Jaya Ganta, a member of Milan and an employee of The Hartford Courant.  Proceeds went to the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, which raises money to support Connecticut children and families in need.

To attract the community to the event, a number of features were added to the “Glimpse of India”.  Several tents were organized with the Indian ethnic food, fashions, henna painting and cultural events.

Another important attraction to the festival part of the program was a wonderful cultural event with cultural dances and Indian music.  For the first time, people of Indian origin as well as other local communities heard the songs such as “I Love India” danced by three Indian children. Amee Mody, who co-emceed the performances, said the performers represented dances from several regions in India. The dances included a Rajasthani folk dance, a Malayalam dance performed by 11-year-old Amoolya Narayanan, and a bhangra dance performed by the Lal Chand Lala troupe from New York City.

"I think they all did a good job," Mody said. "good thoughts, good people."

Narayanan said she has been dancing since she was 6 and enjoys performing at events in the area. "I like dancing," Narayanan said simply.

Karan Goel, of Hartford, said he enjoyed the dancing and the fair in general. "it gives Hartford a chance to see how Indian culture is and all of the things we do in India," Goel said.

One of the tents was exclusively dedicated to the India Tourism Department.  A team of people came all the way from New York City and had their exhibits.  They handed over to the attendees a number of India tourism maps and beautifully printed hand bags free of cost.  They also screened a few Indian tourism movie clips.

Over two thousand people joined the function and walked two miles around the Riverfront Park.   Several of the attendees joined this unique Indian public function for the first time.  Several batches were formed and walked together.  All of them were provided with water and fruits along the walking trail.

The bottom line of the event is that Milan and Courant raised $10,000 on that beautiful sunny day morning from the community.  At the end of the day, a check for the amount was presented to the McCormick foundation representative in support the hungry children in Connecticut.

Milan is a non-profit cultural and educational organization established in Connecticut in 1998.  Its members are people of Indian origin living in Connecticut.   Milan’s mission is “to provide a bridge between the cultures of India and America by making people aware of Indian culture, heritage and traditions.”  During the past several years, Milan, in cooperation with other Indian organizations, has sponsored a number of cultural and educational events to benefit charitable organizations.  More information about Milan is available online at www.milanusa.org.

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