Charity Galore!
Society with Ruchi
The highlight for this weekend was fun with a cause. On Friday March 4, 2011 India House glittered with fashionable men and women for the Indo American Charity Foundation 2010 Funds Distribution and Appreciation Dinner. Women gathered for the evening mostly in Indian attire, sarees and churridars. The trend was mostly on the semi casual look with black kurtas with embellishments, georgette sarees and the classic silk saree with zari border. The agenda of the evening was to honor IACF supported charities, recognize their supporters and celebrate the philanthropy of the Indo American community. Each year Indo American Charity Foundation raises funds from their annual gala event and then they distribute it to more than thirty charities. Last year IACF raised about $275,000 at their 2010 gala.
The evening recognized the hard work and dedication of the board members. Manisha Mehta dazzled in a bollywood style black saree as she was also the emcee for the evening. Anu Bala President IACF expressed that the organization was now looking for youth participation, speaking of which, board member Reji Joseph’s eighteen year old daughter Krystal expressed her desire to volunteer and support charities. Overall a spicy evening with samosas, chutneys and sarees. Event chair Surrender Talwar did everything to put a smile on the evening. Present for the appreciation Ash Shah, Pradeep Gokhale, Roy and Reji Joseph, Chitra Divakaruni, Bobby Singh and many other supporters of the Indian and American community.
Saturday at Lakes of Parkway Latika and Gopal Bathija hosted a sophisticated brunch event at her lavish residence. She called it 
The Banyan Brunch event as the afternoon was dedicated to The Banyan an organization that cares for and rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness found in the streets of Chennai, India. The organization provides women a safe shelter, care, medical attention, and a supportive environment to enable them to recover and to take responsibility for their lives again.
This chic casual afternoon received a high attendance of almost hundred people and the host efficiently entertained everyone with Mimosas, champagne, bloody mary’s along with a wide brunch spread of both Indian and western cuisine made possible by Ashiana Indian Restaurant and Rumki Das Gupta’s Desserts. The house was adorned with flowers and Latika looked stunning in her form fitted black short skirt paired with white shirt and turquoise necklace to match the brunch atmosphere. Indo American News writer/journalist Kalyani Giri charmed the gathering with her ever green saree look with a silk woven sachet. Other impressive lookers included Letty Henderson, Baiza Jamal, Roshan Sethna, Erum Saleemm and Sumbal Khan in bright blues. The afternoon was made possible with generous sponsors like Josephine’s day Spa, Freshie’s Fresh Foods, Travel Leaders, Cafe Moustache, Klein Family Dental & Satya Inc. Seen at the scene Ash & Leena Shah, Mandy Kao, Rick Pal, Savita Rao, Reji Joseph, Raj Malani, Chennai based Balraj Vasudevan and others.
Amongst other celebrations around HTown Bridal and Fashion publication BIBI magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary with many socialites and community leaders. Ayesha Hakki had started this venture along with her friends/partners, Shabana Haq and Zooni when no other such magazine existed in the US. The evening was an elegant affair with cake cutting ceremony, food bites, music and much more. Spotted at the event Munir Ibrahim, Sameera Faridi, Samia Adil, Zooni, Ayesha, Munira Panjwani, Asia Society Texas Center Executive Director Martha Blackwelder, and Gordon Quan.
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