Bhartiya Samaj of Central Florida

   Welcome to the Bhartiya Samaj of Central Florida, a cultural organization based in Polk County, Florida.
   Our Samaj has grown to be one of the most active Indian organizations in Florida, holding many exciting
   cultural and recreational events that bring more than 300 Indian families together.
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The applications and essays were judged by five distinguished judges that were not related to any participants. The judges were carefully selected to ensure that there is diversity, there is no conflict of interest and to ensure fair judging. The judges are successful professionals and leaders in our community and have been connected with our heritage and traditions directly for many years.

The results were announced at the auspicious "Chaitar Mas Navratri" event on Saturday, March 25, 2023. The judges awarded 101 points to three contestants who tied for the second place (Kriti Shah, Khushi Chauhan and Nirja Patel). With 109 points, Neil Dave took the first place. We congratulate and thank all applicants for their interest and diligence to write such wonderful essays. Do take a few moments and read the wonderful essays that our talented youth have written.

Our special thanks to Mr. Shankar Tanwar (inset photo below) for the event photos and active participation in all our cultural events.

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Dr Sejal Patel is a Family Physician by training and has been in the Central Florida area for 12 years. She is currently a Medical Director for a fortune 5 company. On her free time, she loves to spend time with her husband of 16 years and her two sons. She also is on the Advisory Board for Gujarati Society of Central Florida.

Dr. Darshan Shah has served the Polk county hospitals for over ten years now. Currently he is affiliated with Bartow Regional Medical Center and Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He is passionate about his work and always keen on improving patient care. He completed his medical school in Bombay, India and then Family Medicine Residency in Omaha, Nebraska. He is an active member of the community, and enjoys cricket, tennis, chess and racket-ball. He lives in Lakeland with his wife and daughter.

Mr. Hardam Tripathi is a U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law Attorney, and specializes in Business & Investor based immigration and family based immigration. Attorney Tripathi is admitted to practice in immigration court as an advocate and counselor in all 50 states in the Union via Federal Jurisdiction.

Ms. Bhumika Patel completed her undergraduate studies at UF, majoring in Biology. Subsequently she completed her graduate studies at Nova Southeastern University, Jacksonville, and is now working as a Physician Assistant in Internal Medicine. In her spare time she loves to travel, read, work out, bake and cook. Spending time with family and friends is very important to her. In her own words, "I have also grown up going to mandir and continue to go every week. This tradition has kept me connected to my heritage, allows me to maintain a positive perspective throughout my day-to-day life and keeps me connected to God."

Mr. Shulagra Shah did his schooling in Lakeland/Bartow area, and his Masters at Bentley University, Boston, after a short study abroad program at Cape Town University. He is currently working as an Investment Banking Analyst at Stifel Financial Corp, a merger/acquisition company based in New York. Shulagra's passion is sports (specifically cricket, tennis, chess and table tennis) and wildlife photography.