Indian expats’ leader very proud of his legacy
Print Edition
THERE’S an innate sense of pride in Amit Waikar’s voice. Having just returned from Beijing after attending a reception held for Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, the 39-year-old is beaming about his recent experience, explaining that “to get the honor to meet such a person on a one-on-one level is all thanks to the Indian Association.”
He’s speaking about the Indian Association of Shanghai, of which he is the president. It’s a world away from his life in India, but perhaps it’s a sign of what Waikar has achieved in a relatively short period of time. Like Swaraj, he too has risen up the ranks, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, and is helping Indians connect in a place far from home.
Born in Nagpur, known as the Orange City for its wealth of oranges and mandarins, Waikar’s life was, as he puts it, “blessed, secured and love-filled.”
In a family of doctors, it would seem natural for him to follow the same path. Yet Waikar fell into the world of flavors, fragrances and beverage ingredients that soon saw him work for a global producer of technology-based natural ingredients, Dohler.
“You can see I am a black sheep, the only non-medico in the family,” he quips with slight amusement.
And as is the case for many expats, Waikar’s journey to Shanghai was one of circumstance in that his work with Dohler took him and his wife here.
While there may have been trepidation to begin with, ultimately it led to excitement. Still, he had no knowledge of what an Indian community in Shanghai looked like, let alone what the Indian Association was.
It was founded in 1997 as way for Indians living in Shanghai to engage each other and organize events and charity functions as a community. Waikar’s first interaction with the Indian Association was relatively innocent, the result of meeting some Indian expats. He then met more and attended events such as Diwali, the festival of lights. Waikar was immediately struck by how well everything was done with close to 800 people in attendance.
“My first impression was ‘wow, these guys are super-rich and do I fit in?’ To which I did,” he says.
He admits to needing that interaction with fellow Indians, people he could relate to and who might have a similar experience to his own. After several years working in a volunteer capacity with the association, he got the opportunity to run for election.
“The first question I asked was why me?” he says of putting his hand up to run. “It took a lot of soul searching, but eventually I asked why not me? I wanted to take up the challenge.”
With enough backing, and the much-needed support of his wife, Waikar ran and won in 2012, humble in his victory.
“What my friends did — voting for me and signing up to become members, if they weren’t, so that they could vote — is something I’ll never forget,” he says.
While the association had around 700 members at the time of the election, Waikar was far from satisfied. He points to the Indian Association’s reputation of being an “elite, high-end organization.” One, he says, “most Indians knew nothing about.”
This is what sparked his interest to run for the leadership position. “I wanted it to be inclusive — for every Indian to come to. I wanted to get the common man, the hard-working man, into it.”
Waikar can safely say he’s achieved that goal. Since his election, membership has doubled to 1,400.
When asked if he sees difficulties coping with the cultural differences between the Chinese and Indians, Waikar says, “It’s about finding a common ground and appreciating that common ground that allows you to enjoy and appreciate other cultures.”
More pertinent, perhaps, is his desire to see a “platform to which Indians get together and do some goodwill,” which has been reached rather quickly.
He is quick to point out the Dream Team (fellow members on the committee) who allows the association to conduct several major annual events by volunteering their time.
One of these events is Bal Diwas, where 100 Indian children perform different plays and songs that are not the expected Bollywood numbers, but rather performances from old ancient holy stories, something insisted upon by Waikar himself.
There are also annual sporting events, with cricket being the main draw, as well as charity works such as the largest annual blood drive in Shanghai, where over 100 expats from one community come together to give blood.
The top events of the year include Dandiya Nite, with over 500 dancers, and Diwali, where some of the top Bollywood performers come and celebrate the festivities.
While this small yet vibrant Indian community continues to grow and expand, Waikar is reflective of his time as president and what has become of something he’s grown to love.
“It has been a truly humbling experience, and has made me a much better human being on a personal level,” he says. “It’s given me more than I could ever have asked for.”
Check www.indian-association-sha.net/index.html for details.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
