Several members of ICSOA soaked in the atmosphere and experienced the emotional uplift by celebrating this year's Indian Republic Day with fellow Indians residing in Australia.
Held at Sydney offices of Consul General of India (CGI), for 'Indian Republic Day' celebrations on 26th January, 2017, the formal ceremony started at 09:00 sharp. The Consul General (CG) welcomed the gathering and congratulated the guests from Australian government for a combined celebration of Australia Day.
The CG then unfurled the Indian Tricolour as part of the traditional Flag Hoisting followed by singing of the 'Jan Gan Man' (the Indian National Anthem) by those present. An act that brought back fond memories and emotions of pride and love for our motherland.
The President's speech was then read by the CGI, Sydney. After the speeches, the cultural programmes included Patriotic songs, Poetry and a Classical Dance presented by local residents of Indian origin.
After the formal ceremonies, it was time for the crowd present to meet and greet each other and mix freely. This was also a signal for those 'selfie' enthusiasts and cameras to click away and capture the moments in photographic memories. There was a good demand for the 'Tricolour Stand' and to get photographed with the CG and other members of CGI Sydney staff, however courtesy and jovial manners ruled the day, preventing any jostlings or bad experience. This was also helped by the wonderful hospitality shown by the hosts who had laid out some 6 odd tables of sumptuous Indian Vegetarian Cuisine and sweets, because people queued up for Kachauris, Chholays, Vadas, Sambhar, Dahi Badas etc. For those with a sweet tooth, the most inviting were the Petha and the Rus Malaaaee. Masaala Chai, fruit juice and Water were a plenty and used by the gathering to top of the food.
Some of the ICSOA family members attending were:Mr.Abbas Chelat, Mr. Abbas Raza Alvi, Mr Ali Mohammad Karkun, Mrs. Fahmida Abdi, Mr Farogh Zaidi, Dr. Habib Bhurawala, Mr. Iqtedar Abdi, Mr Khursheed Alam , Mrs Yasmin Zaidi, Mr. Zahid Jamil & Mr Zameer Khan
The feelings of the day are also captured for 'Hulchul-Sydney Say' page of the mobile app 'Suniye Tau', as an audio report which can be heard via The URL for browsers:
An IT professional and owner of Alinfo Solutions, Iqtedar has an Honours in Computer Sciences and a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Flinders and Adelaide Universities. After research institutes and Corporate ITC work in India, he returned to Sydney, Australia. While at UNISYS, he obtained a Masters in Engineering Management from UTS. His creativity includes Writing, Producing and Directing Video, Theatre & Radio plays and Project Managing Audio & Stage. He has broadcast on All India Radio, Adelaide 5UV and Sydney stations SBS, Monica Geet Mala and Indian Link FM. He runs his own Mobile App internet radio 'Suniye Tau'.
