Hundreds of invited guests, including community leaders, New York City officials, patrons and supporters, celebrated the annual World’s Fair Diwali and Navratri gala Sunday, September 20, 2026, organized by the Arts4All Foundation at the Mint Restaurant and Lounge, Garden City, NY.
A highlight of the evening’s celebrations was the Special Honor Awards to NYC leaders who have performed exemplary deeds of service and meritorious contributions for the betterment of society.
This year, the Foundation awarded honors to 16 leaders who have made a difference to society. These included (1) New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli; (2) Congresswoman Laura A. Gillen, (3-4) physicians, philanthropists, and media moguls Dr. Sudhir M. Parikh and Dr. Sudha S. Parikh; (5) Chief of Clinical Cardiology at Mount Sinai Health System Dr. Samin K. Sharma; (6) Queensborough Community College President Dr. Christine Mangino; (7) CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Alina Moran; (8) Vascular Surgeon Dr. Pallavi Manvar-Singh; (9) Director of Cardiovascular Imaging at Mount Sinai West Dr. Nina Kukar; (10) Psychiatrist Dr. Ramsing B. Pardeshi; (11) Pediatrician, Ophthalmologist, and Humanitarian Dr. Mamta Shaha; (12) Oncologist, Hematologist, and Cancer Research Expert Dr. Tarun Wasil; (13) Chief Nursing Officer at New York State Office of Mental Health Dr. Tara Shajan; (14) Founder of Grow Infinite Financial Solutions Ankurr Bharrucha; (15) New York State Senate Candidate Harjot Singh, and (16) IDP President Deepak Bansal.
The awards ceremony included a colorful Diya lighting with each of the honorees lighting a Diya and sharing messages of hope, service, and unity in recognition of humanity’s shared responsibility to one another.
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Each Diya also symbolized the message of the holidays of the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge from ignorance, goodness, and liberation from oppression, equality, and peace. With every Diya lit, the Arts4All Foundation as an organization pledged to continue to recommit themselves to the core ideals of the holidays.
Speaking on the occasion, Congresswoman Gillen said, “I am proud to join Dr. Sumita SenGupta and all of the honorees in a celebration that reminds us that the brightest achievements are those that are forged together as a community.” She said the lighting of the Diyas were reminders of their message of light and hope over darkness and ignorance. “These are universal values that extend beyond today’s celebration and connect with all of us,” she said.
DiNapoli congratulated the honor award recipients and Sumita Sengupta, the founder of Arts4All Foundation. “Thank you for your dedication, commitment, and leadership in building a stronger, brighter future for New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said. Wishing everyone a happy Navratri and Diwali holiday season, he said, festivals such as Navaratri and Diwali gather communities across our state, nation, and world together to celebrate and honor the values represented by these festivals.
Padma Shri recipient and Chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media, Dr. Sudhir Parikh congratulated Sengupta for continuing the work of her mother, Uma SenGupta, a Democratic Party District Leader of the 25th Assembly District, in improving people’s lives over decades of public service. Dr. Parikh also outlined his own work with political leaders to push for the creation of the Congressional India Caucus, and for policies in favor of India, including his present work as the Global Chair of Life Global which has been doing a tremendous amount of philanthropic work in health and children’s education in Gujarat, India, specifically the 125 schools that it runs.
Other honorees gave messages of hope and humanity to the gathering. Sengupta said the gala was a thank you to the honorees who have contributed to strengthening the communities with dedication. “It is acts of kindness that embody the values of Navaratri and Diwali, and we hope that our events continue to encourage people from all backgrounds to engage in meaningful service, thereby creating a momentum of community-led action to uplift our communities,” SenGupta said.
The venue was decorated in the classic Indian tradition with colorful rangolis, fragrant flowers and bright Diyas all over. Classical music and dance performances included a Bharatnatyam by Sweta Goswami, popular Hindi songs by Upendra Gupta, and a Garba dance contest with rainbow colored lit dandiyas. A festive mango rasmalai cake, donated by Kaushal Naik, owner of Hot Breads, was cut to pay tribute to the Mango, India’s national fruit.
Arts4All Foundation also announced the official launch date of this year’s World’s Fair Diwali and Navaratri Festival and Parade to be held on Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.