From left, front row, Kamal Karki, honoree; Shyama Venkateswar, Director, Asian Social Issues Program, Asia Society; Shiv Charan Dass, honoree; Gayatri Devi, honoree, Morshed Alam, honoree; Asghar Choudhuri, honoree; rear row, from left, Reverend Heenbunne Kondanna, honoree; William Thompson, Comptroller of New York City; and Harbachan Singh, honoree; at the South Asian Heritage celebration in New York on May 19. (Photo: Courtesy, Marla S. Maritzer/Comptroller City of New York)

William Thompson, Comptroller of the City of New York, Asia Society and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan celebrated ‘South Asian Heritage’ by honoring seven South Asians in Manhattan on May 19. The program included performances by The Shiv Jyoti Dance Academy and Punjabi folk dance and bhangra dances.

The honorees were Morshed Alam, Asghar Choudhuri, Shiv Charan Dass, Gayatri Devi, Kamal B. Karki, Rev. Heenbunne Kondanna and Harbachan Singh.

Alam is the Commissioner of the New York City Voter Assistance Commission and founder and president of the American-Bangladesh Friendship Association. Choudhuri, an accountant has been president of the Pakistani-American Federation of New York since 1990. He is also the founder and chair of the Pakistani-American Merchant Association of Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, Inc.

Dass served the Government of India until 1971. Currently the President of 220-member Jackson Heights Merchants Association, he owns a jewelry business and a high-fashion boutique in the neighborhood called ‘Little India.’ Gayatri Devi is a dancer, teacher and choreographer. She is the founder-president and artistic director of Aum Upasana, an institution to promote art and culture through dance and music.

Kirki is native of Kathmandu who started his career as teacher in the Royal Nepal Army before joining the Nepal Ministry of Foreign Services. He was the founding member of the American-Nepal Friendship Society which helps promote relations between the two countries.

Kondanna is a Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk and the Head Abbott at the Staten Island Buddhist Vihara. He has taught in Sri Lanka and Singapore and lived in Japan, where he was awarded a Japan Foundation scholarship to further his Japanese language skills.

Harbachan Singh is a Barrister-in-Law (U.K.) and holds an M.A. in government and politics from St. John’s University. He has also worked with the police department in Malaysia before joining the U.N. in 1969.