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"What happens in India is one of the three or four most important things that (will) determine the course of the 21st century," former US President Bill Clinton said.
He then had to pause for several minutes for the decibel levels to die down, as a large gathering of Indian-American professionals and community leaders stood to applaud.
Clinton was delivering the keynote address at a dinner concert organised by American India Foundation (AIF) to raise funds for the rehabilitation of those affected by the Gujarat earthquake.
Clinton is a board member of the AIF, and was honorary event chairperson of the sit-down dinner-concert that drew an estimated 700 people, and raised around $1.3million.
In a speech that was a panegyric to India and Indians, Clinton said the AIF, set up in February this year, hoped to raise $10 million by the end of the year. "We can't bring back the lives (lost in the earthquake), but we want to make sure that all the villages in Gujarat are rebuilt," Clinton said.
The former President recounted his April visit to the earthquake-hit region, and spoke of how he saw people without homes, and people who could not go to work because there was no work to go to. "There is a serious purpose to this event," he said, adding that it would take more than two or three years for the AIF to complete all rehabilitation work.
Pointing to the success of Indians settled in the US, Clinton said, "Those of you who have come here and done well must help," he said. "Your country needs you."
Though the AIF was formed in the wake of the quake to help the victims, the organisation's goal was to build bridges between the successful Indian community in the US and their brethren back in India. "Our work will not stop until India enjoys substantial progress in its standard of living and standing in the world," Clinton said.
The words echoed a statement by Citibank North America chairman and AIF trustee Victor Menezes made at a May 22 fund-raiser when he said that though the AIF was started to help the Gujarat quake victims, the ultimate aim was to create a capability, with private and individual resources, for the organisation to reach out to more people, for longer periods of time.
"We are not trying to solve all the problems in India, buy we are trying to focus on some areas that need attention," he said on that occasion.
At Tuesday night's dinner, Menezes said that he was optimistic the project would be a success. "We can make this into something bigger than all of us here," he said, in course of his introductory remarks.
Those present included Governor of West Bengal Biren Shah and his wife, former US ambassador to India Richard Celeste and wife Jacqueline Lundquist, and scores of community leader and members of major Indian American organizations like the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), the Gujarati Samaj of New York and the Gujarati Samaj of Washington D.C.
The affair was billed at a minimum of $1000 per dinner plate.
AIF executive director Pradip Kashyap told this correspondent that besides individual contributions, many organizations have contributed to the corpus raised by the AIF. "Many in the tri-state area want to channel their resources for relief and rehabilitation through the AIF," Kashyap said.
The evening's program at the Regent Hotel on Wall Street began with the inauguration of an exhibition of 40 earthquake photos taken by Mohammed Jaffer, who had accompanied Clinton to Gujarat in April. Clinton lit a brass lamp at the ballroom to declare the exhibition open.
The three-course dinner began with a qawali recital by Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, nephew of legendary Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, followed by a performance by six-time Grammy winner Jose Feliciano, and a classical dance recital by Tehreema Mitha.
A fashion show concluded the programme with India's leading designers Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal and Rina Dhaka participating. The show, featuring 19 American models, was compered by Jacqueline Lundquist, who said she fell in love with Indian designs during her sojourn in India and felt that they would be highly appreciated if brought to the US.
The evening's star, however, was Clinton, who was mobbed from the moment he inaugurated the exhibition till he left the hotel.
New York-based physician Dr. Navin Mehta, who hails from the earthquake ravaged region of Bhuj in Gujarat, summed up Clinton's enduring appeal when he said, "In this country, we have never changed our President in our hearts. He (Clinton) is still President Clinton."
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