LOS ANGELES, CA - Sony Studios was taken over by a gathering of the medical community as the Indian Medical Association of Los Angeles (IMALA) and the TriValley Indian Medical Associations (TVIMA) merged resources to conduct a joint gala on the evening of Oct. 24.
Guests were given a red carpet welcome as they entered the locale where the streets inside the studio were lit up and bright signs heralded the event. The function was held in the open. IMALA Executive Director Dr Gopal Batra said the estimated attendance was in the region of 500 and that he had had to turn down several more requests for participation as they had run out of tables.
The evening commenced with an elegant reception where guests from the two associations were able to catch up with friends and acquaintances over drinks and hors d’oeuvres. The area was also filled with displays by medical and pharmaceutical companies showcasing their latest products.
Opening the business session, Dr Raj Prasad, President of IMALA expressed his happiness over how, as a group, the doctors, residents and medical students of the two associations had come to be recognized as powerful entities.
TVIMA President Dr Ramesh Arora touched on the activities of the Association but added that its 200 membership comprised only a third of the physicians who reside in the area and a drive needs to initiated to recruit more. Among his goals is to propel the organization towards more political involvement like affiliation to AAPI so their voices can be heard at the national level which will give it a greater edge to better help the community..
Dr Gopal Batra, Executive Director of IMALA spoke of the dreams he has for the future generations of youngsters of Indian origin. He added that the evening’s program was designed to reflect the intersection of East and West. His remark that while the Indian community represents less that 1% of the population of the country but the medical fraternity of physicians of India origin forms 10% of practicing doctors , was met with thundering applause. it was time for them to help each other as a group to reach the next level.
At the conclusion of the speeches Dr Prasad presented the Distinguished Physician of the Year Award from IMALA to the Chair of the Steering Committee, Dr Shri K Mishra, who pledged to continue to provide his services to the committee and the profession.
The Special Guest of the Night was Shawn King, wife of the legendary talk show host Larry King . She was attending the function not only as an entertainer but in the capacity as the Chairperson of the Larry King Foundation which was set up by King following his quintuple by pass heart surgery in February of 1987. She brought along with her a video taped greeting from her husband commending the work of Indian physicians and organizations such as IMALA and TVIMA. Before presenting a soulful rendition of her the song “ For the Long Run “ she had written for her spouse she announced she had just tied up with Sonu Niigaam for a recording to be released shortly.
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