Desai Family Foundation Hosts Second Free Health Seminar in Burlington, MA - Women's Health Seminar: Early Detection & Prevention of Cancer
November 25, 2009. Burlington, MA – The Desai Family Foundation, committed to creating, implementing and promoting programs that support general education and health, Indian culture and community development, hosted its second Health Seminar in the United States on November 21st, 2009.
DFF has been very active in health outreach in rural village in India, such as Talangpur, Gujarat, however this was its first effort to bring health education stateside.
The FREE Health Seminar, Women's Health Seminar: Early Detection & Prevention of Cancer, focused on the four most prevalent types of cancer in women in the Indian American community. "Our goal was to create a forum where women can come together and feel comfortable learning about common issues that aren't often addressed or spoken about, and I think we achieved that today" Nilima Desai, Trustee of Desai Family Foundation.
The seminar was led by two health experts who discussed early detection and prevention. The interactive group discussion was designed to be fun and engaging, and helped to provide basic descriptions of the four main cancers women face with applicable practical advice.
Doctors Purnima Sangal (Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgeon) and Janaki Vardahan (General & Breast Surgeon) led a highly interactive 90 minute discussion to a full house of 40 women. Only female attendees were allowed to attend this seminar in order to encourage an open and honest dialog.
"Excellent event, very well organized, speakers were wonderful". Said Dr. Manju Sheth who attended the seminar.
"Great conversation about women's issues on Saturday morning. The topics were great and I really enjoyed the open question/answer discussion venue". Said by Neelam Wali who also attended the seminar.
The successful seminar was well attended, well received, and helped to bring a bit of practical knowledge to the South Asian home. The Desai Family Foundation hopes to continue these types of seminars in the spirit of its mission.
For questions or inquiries contact:
Megha Samir Desai
Director
Desai Family Foundation
Desaifamilyfoundation.org
megha@desaifamilyfoundation.org
Desai Family Foundation Hosts first in a series of Women's Health Seminars – Early Detection & Prevention of Cancer on November 21, 2009
Burlington, MA – The Desai Family Foundation, committed to creating, implementing and promoting programs that support general education and health, Indian culture and community development, is hosting its second Health Seminar in the United States.
DFF has been very active in health outreach in rural village in India, such as Talangpur, Gujarat, however this is its first effort to bring health education stateside.
The FREE Health Seminar, Women's Health Seminar: Early Detection & Prevention of Cancer, will focus on the four most common cancers in women. "Our goal is to create a forum where women can come together and feel comfortable learning about important issues that aren't often addressed or spoken about" - Nilima Desai, Trustee of Desai Family Foundation.
The seminar will be led by two health experts who will teach early detection and prevention as well as provide a guide to common questions and risk factors. The interactive group discussion is designed to be fun and engaging, and lets you bring preventative research home and give practical advice that you can use.
If you know a woman who has cancer or have family history of either, we highly encourage you to attend the seminar to gather successful methods to detect and prevent these life-threatening diseases.
For more information about the seminar or to sign up, please contact info@desaifamilyfoundation.org
When: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
Where: 128 Wheeler Road, Burlington, MA 01803
Panelists
Purnima Sangal, MD, FACOG
Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgeon
President, A Women's Place, Chelmsford MA
Janaki Vardhan, MD, FACS
General & Breast Surgeon
Meeting House, Chelmsford, MA
Desai Family Foundation Hosts Free Health Seminar in Burlington, MA - Health Seminar, Managing Diabetes & Heart Disease: Heart Healthy Eating
July, 18th, 2009. Burlington, MA – The Desai Family Foundation, committed to creating, implementing and promoting programs that support general education and health, Indian culture and community development, hosted its first ever Health Seminar in the United States on July 11th, 2009.
DFF has been very active in health outreach in rural village in India, such as Talangpur, Gujarat, however this was its first effort to bring health education stateside.
The FREE Health Seminar, Managing Diabetes & Heart Disease: Heart Healthy Eating, focused on the two most prevalent diseases in the Indian American community. “Despite having moved thousands of miles away, our community here in America is still afflicted with Diabetes and Heart Disease at an alarming rate. We wanted to develop a seminar that educates on healthy eating habits, but doesn’t ignore our Indian palette.” Says Samir Desai, President of the Desai Family Foundation.
The seminar was led by three health experts who discussed disease prevention and management as well as provided a guide to eating heart smart and healthy Indian food. The interactive group discussion was designed to be fun and engaging, and helped to bring preventative research home into the Indian kitchen and with applicable practical advice.
Doctors Om P. Ganda (Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism), Dr. Vikas Desai (Cardiologist) and Sangeeta T Pradhan (Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist) led a highly interactive discussion to a packed house of nearly 100 attendees. Our host, Rakesh Kamdar (CEO and President of DB Healthcare) helped to take questions from the audience to make this a truly interactive seminar.
“There was a practioner's view and approach to taking care of one's health; targeted towards Asians and Asian Indians, especially those who live in US and have the US mindset. I hope that you will provide additional targeted forums where we can dig deeper in a workshop setting.” Said Alkesh Shah who attended the Seminar.
“What struck me most was the interactive nature of the seminar. These were not just lectures and had ample time fro discussions. It seemed to me as if all of us were participating on these very serious health problems. Our very capable speakers gave all the answers to the people who were concerned about their medical conditions. All in all, it was a highly educational seminar which will benefit all people.” noted Puran Dang, who also attended the Seminar.
The successful seminar was well attended, well received, and helped to bring a bit of practical knowledge to the home. The Desai Family Foundation hopes to continue these types of seminars in the spirit of its mission.
For questions or inquiries contact:
Megha Samir Desai
Director
Desai Family Foundaiton
Desaifamilyfoundation.org
megha@desaifamilyfoundation.org
Desai Family Foundation Hosts Health Seminar – Combining healthy eating habits with an Indian sensibility on July 11, 2009
Burlington, MA – The Desai Family Foundation, committed to creating, implementing and promoting programs that support general education and health, Indian culture and community development, is hosting its first ever Health Seminar in the United States.
DFF has been very active in health outreach in rural village in India, such as Talangpur, Gujarat, however this is its first effort to bring health education stateside.
The FREE Health Seminar, Managing Diabetes & Heart Disease: Heart Healthy Eating, will focus on the two most prevalent diseases in the Indian American community. “Despite having moved thousands of miles away, our community here in America is still afflicted with Diabetes and Heart Disease at an alarming rate. We wanted to develop a seminar that educates on healthy eating habits, but doesn’t ignore our Indian palette.” Says Samir Desai, President of the Desai Family Foundation.
The seminar will be led by three health experts who will teach disease prevention and management as well as provide a guide to eating heart smart and healthy Indian food. The interactive group discussion is designed to be fun and engaging, and lets you bring preventative research home into the Indian kitchen and give practical advice that you can use.
If you know someone who has diabetes or heart disease or have family history of either, we highly encourage you to attend the seminar to gather successful methods to manage and prevent these life-threatening diseases.
For more information about the seminar or to sign up, please contact info@desaifamilyfoundation.org
Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
128 Wheeler Road, Burlington MA 01803
Panelists
Om P. Ganda, MD
Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism
Director, Lipid Clinic, Chairman, Clinical Oversight Committee, Joslin Diabetes Center;
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Vikas Desai, MD
Cardiologist
Charles River Medical Associates, Natick MA
Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston MA
Sangeeta T. Pradhan
Registered Dietician and Nutritionist
Diabetes and Nutrition Services, Charles River Medical Associates
The First Annual “Sensational India” Festival to Showcase the Sights, Sounds and Tastes of Indian Culture at the Peabody Essex Museum
April 4-5 festival, expected to draw over 3,000 people, highlighting cooking, film, music, dance and art events; Desai Family Foundation partners with PEM to host this festival every year during next seven years
BURLINGTON & SALEM, Mass.—The Desai Family Foundation, a Burlington, Mass.-based non-profit organization that supports general education and health, Indian culture and community development, today announced that it has partnered with Peabody Essex Museum to organize and host “Sensational India!” festival for the next seven years.
The first “Sensational India!” festival, which is scheduled for April 4-5, 2009 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., will showcase the sights, sounds and tastes of Indian culture and is expected to draw over 3,000 people.
It will celebrate PEM’s unparalleled 200-year legacy of cultural exchange with India at the annual Sensational India! festival. For two days, the Peabody Essex Museum will become alive with the sounds of the veena and tabla, the aroma of South Asian cuisine and the color and vitality of Indian classical and folk dance. "We’re very excited to support this event.” said Mr. Desai, President of The Desai Family Foundation.
In partnership with Samir and Nilima Desai and the Desai Family Foundation, PEM will host this exciting and unique program annually, showcasing both ancient and modern aspects of India’s rich culture. The program is positioned as the destination for all things Indian in New England – this year, and in the years to come.
“India has drawn incredible attention in recent years for its art – namely film and music – and we want to help enrich those curious minds about all that India has to offer,” added Mr. Desai.
This year’s spirited two-day festival is aimed at making connections between the rich Indian art and culture and India’s traditional and contemporary performing arts in their many exciting forms. The program brings to life each of your senses with India’s dynamic culture. And will be THE destination for all things Indian in New England – this year, and in the years to come.
Everyone interested in India is invited to attend and celebrate with art, dance, music, film, food, hands-on art activities and more. Families will hear traditional Indian tales, learn their fortune from a parrot and create rangoli art.
Special Event:
On Sunday, April 5, award-winning actress and best-selling cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey will speak about her newest book, Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India. A leading authority on Indian food, Ms. Jaffrey tells a tale of an unusual childhood and testifies to the power of food to prompt memory. The book includes recipes for more than 30 delicious dishes from Jaffrey's childhood.
New Exhibition:
The art exhibit, Revisions, Indian Artists Engaging Traditions, Explores how some of India's leading artists draw inspiration from themes found in traditional Indian art. This unique exhibition pairs some of the finest works from PEM's world-renowned contemporary Indian art collection along side rare traditional Indian art from the Harvard Art Museum. This riveting exhibit will be on display for the coming year for all to enjoy.
More at PEM:
For almost 200 years, Salem was one of the richest and most important seaports in North America. The Salem merchants who founded the Peabody Essex Museum in 1799 sailed the globe in search of international trade. This began what is today one of the largest museums in the nation, with unrivaled collections from New England and around the world including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese merchant's home. Enjoy special exhibitions, world-renowned collections and the award-winning, interactive Art & Nature Center for families. For more information please visit www.pem.org.
About The Desai Family Foundation:
The Desai Family Foundation (DFF) is a proud partner bringing the public Sensational India for the next seven years. The program will provide an annual opportunity to celebrate India’s artistic and cultural heritage through a multi-faceted program that includes an exhibition of Indian art, dance, music, lectures films and family events. The Desai Family Foundation aims to create, implement and promote programs that support general education and health, Indian culture, and community development. In the United States, most of the foundations project focus on bringing Indian art and cultural education to the general public. For more information, and learn about our health outreach programs in India, please visit www.desaifamilyfoundation.org.
ART INSPIRED BY INDIA’S MAJOR METROPOLIS,
BOMBAY, IS FOCUS OF NEW EXHIBITION
Bose Krishnamachari’s dynamic installation also on view
Gateway Bombay opens July 14, 2007
Salem, Mass—Gateway Bombay presents the work of 13 artists who are deeply connected to the city, which is today—60 years after India's independence—a booming commercial and financial hub and a leading center of the art world. The exhibition features major paintings, works on paper, photographs and a mixed-media installation created over the past four decades and as recently as 2006. The 29 works are drawn primarily from PEM's Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection of contemporary Indian art. The artists represented include Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Bal Chhabda, Atul Dodiya, M.F. Husain, Nalini Malani, Gieve Patel, Sudhir Patwardhan, and Ketaki Sheth—most of whom live and work in Bombay. The exhibition opens July 14, 2007, and remains on view through Dec. 7, 2008, in the Herwitz Gallery.
"Each artist in Gateway Bombay deploys a carefully honed aesthetic vision to explore the city's everyday realities, its residents and the locales they shape and inhabit. Collectively, the works draw viewers beyond the surface noise of a densely peopled metropolis into a deeper encounter with one of the world's largest and most energetic cities," says Susan Bean, PEM curator of South Asian and Korean art.
Bombay became officially known as Mumbai in 1995, but both names are widely used. With a metro-area population of over 18 million, Bombay/Mumbai is India's most populous city, and is expected to be the world's largest by 2020. This dramatic growth is due to the constant influx of people seeking opportunity in the nation's commercial capital. The Gateway of India, which frames Bombay's harbor on the Arabian Sea, was created as a monument to colonial rule. Today it is a fixture in Bombay's daily life, one of its most visible icons, and a draw for tourists and citizens alike.
In the first two and a half months of the exhibition, Mumbai-based contemporary artist Bose Krishnamachari's mixed-media installation, GHOST/TRANSMEMOIR, will be on view in the museum's light-filled Atrium. The 40-foot long work, on loan from Aicon Gallery New York, includes 108 metal cans used by the city's famous dabbawalla lunch delivery system (the word comes from dabba, a reference to a box containing a light meal, and walla, the person who delivers). Dabbawallas deliver home-cooked meals to tens of thousands of office workers every day with a level of efficiency rivaling some of the world's top delivery systems. The lunch boxes in Krishnamachari's compelling piece are mounted on iron scaffolding and contain LCD monitors that project interviews with a range of Mumbaikars (Mumbai residents), from street vendors to socialites, industrialists and intellectuals. The tangle of wires, hand straps, headphones, and metal containers is a play on the indomitable spirit and energy of Mumbai's people in a city constantly on the move.
In Gieve Patel's Two Men with Handcart, saturated tones of pink and orange create a dense urban backdrop, against which two male figures are centered at the bottom of the canvas—laborers pausing for a moment in their work day, seemingly deep in conversation. Sudhir Patwardhan's Pokharan depicts a distressed site in transition, littered with haphazard construction and the toxic air of industrialization. Here muted colors emphasize the recent pollution of this landscape and the near-exclusion of people testifies to lifelessness amidst a panorama of urbanization. Chirodeep Chaudhuri's black-and-white photographs remind us that India's great urban metropolis is also a city on the sea. Mumbai's deep-water harbor, which handles some 40 percent of India's maritime trade, is a popular gathering point for tourists visiting the thousand year old cave temple at Elephanta Island or traveling from Mumbai to Goa. It also serves as a playground for residents seeking reprieve from the city's congestion.
A 66-page, fully illustrated color catalogue published by the Peabody Essex Museum accompanies the show. It includes essays by PEM curator Susan Bean with research assistance from Beth Citron, an art historian currently based in Mumbai.
Among the events related to the Gateway Bombay exhibition, is a day-long public program on July 21, complete with D.J. artist Komal Trivedi of WZBC radio as she shares her passion for South Asian and underground music by playing selections from the greatest Bollywood films. An Atrium Alive weekend in October will feature a film festival, including Mira Nair's Salam Bombay; Mani Ratnam's Bombay, and others. For more information, visit www.pem.org.
Credits:
Gateway Bombay has been generously supported in part by Samir & Nilima Desai; the Desai Family Foundation.
Media Partner: India New England.
The accompanying catalogue, “Gateway Bombay,” is made possible thanks to The Pundole Art Gallery in Mumbai, India.
Indian Art at PEM
Acquiring its first work of Indian art in 1800, the Peabody Essex Museum is the first American museum to focus on the art of modern India. Today the museum holds the nation’s leading collection of Indian art of the modern era, from the 18th through the 20th centuries including paintings and works on paper; sculpture in metal, wood, and clay; textiles, furniture, silver; and a large collection of 19th-century photography, as well as important documents recounting 18th- and 19th-century commercial and cultural relations between the United States and India. In 2001, the museum acquired the Chester and Davida Herwitz collection of contemporary Indian art which includes 1,200 works by more than 70 of India’s leading artists of the second half of the 20th century––M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, Manjit Bawa, Tyeb Mehta, Ganesh Pyne, Laxma Goud, Jogen Chowdhury, Nalini Malani, Bhupen Khakhar, Gieve Patel and Arpita Singh, to name a few. This groundbreaking collection also includes the Herwitz’s international art library and archive of letters, papers and other documents. In 2003, PEM became the first museum in the nation to devote an entire gallery to contemporary Indian art.
About the Peabody Essex Museum
The recently transformed Peabody Essex Museum presents art and culture from New England and around the world. The museum's collections are among the finest of their kind, showcasing an unrivaled spectrum of American art and architecture (including four National Historic Landmark buildings) and outstanding Asian, Asian Export, Native American, African, Oceanic, Maritime, and Photography collections. In addition to its vast collections, the museum offers a vibrant schedule of changing exhibitions and public programs, plus a hands-on education center. In 2006, PEM was named one of the nation's "Top 10 Art Museums for Kids" by Child Magazine. The museum campus features numerous parks, period gardens, and 24 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture in the United States. The Peabody Essex Museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. General museum admission: Adults $13; seniors $11; students $9. Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $4. Members, youth 16 and under, and residents of Salem enjoy free general admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang. Special exhibitions may require an additional fee. Location: East India Square, Salem, MA 01970. Call 866-745-1876 or visit our Web site at www.pem.org.
Donna Desrochers
Public Relations Manager
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
Salem, MA 01970
978-745-9500 x3109 (office)
978-590-4144 (cell)
