At a cultured and stylish banquet worthy of the Pulitzers, the Association of Indians in America presented its Honor Awards to distinguished figures for their outstanding contributions to Indian linguistics, philosophy, performing arts, and community service. The honorees were Professor George Cardona, Sanskrit scholar and linguist, of the University of Pennsylvania; Sarod maestro Padma Vibhushan Amjad Ali Khan; and Tibetan Buddhist scholar and activist Professor Robert A.F. Thurman of Columbia University. A Special Recognition Award was presented to Dr. Nirmal K. Mattoo, past national president of the AIA.

From left to right: Dr. S.N. Sridhar, Dr. Nirmal K Mattoo, Professor George Cardona, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Professor Robert Thurman, Dr. Piyush Agrawal, & Dr. Narinder M. Kukar

Clockwise from the top left corner: Prof. Thurman, Prof. Cardona, Usatd Ajmad Ali Khan, Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal & Dr. Nirmal K. Mattoo

Presenting George Cardona, Professor S. N. Sridhar, Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Center for India Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, called him the world s leading authority on the great Sanskrit grammarian Panini and the rich Sanskrit grammatical tradition. Cardona s lifelong study of Sanskrit grammar at the hands of the traditional pundits underlines the value of indigenous traditions, he added. Cardona, accepting the award on behalf of his teachers and their teachers, spoke of the achievements of the 3,000 year long tradition of sophisticated language research in India.

Ustad Amjad A. Khan was introduced by the Honorable Harsh Bhasin, India's Ambassador to South Africa before he joined State University of New York at Stony Brook this year as Professor of International Relations. He recalled Khan Sahib's successful accomplishments in preserving, promoting, and enhancing the art of the Sarod and Indian classical music.