
The Australian Information Cell of the Indian Government’s AYUSH Ministry in association with Australasian Association of Ayurveda Inc. (AAAI) organised the Ayurveda Day on Friday, 9 November, in the South Eastern suburb of Dandenong.
AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy) is a Ministry under the Government in India, formed with the purpose of promoting traditional and alternative medicine sciences. The AYUSH Ministry has opened the information cell in Dandenong to promote awareness about ancient Indian medical sciences in Australia.
The guests of honour for the evening were Mr Rakesh Malhotra (Acting Consul General of India); former ministerial adviser Mr Nitin Gupta; Sudanese community leader Ms Selba G Luka; and Italian community leader and former Mayor of Knox Mr Joe Cossari.

As he welcomed the guests, Dr Santosh Kumar Yadav spoke on the benefits of natural and alternative medicines. He was followed by a panel of speakers—Dr Satheesh Kumar, Dr Roopa Konanur, Dr Gurnam Saini and Dr Shikha Sehgal. Certificates of appreciation were also presented to Ayurveda Day Ambassadors Sonam Verma and Preeti Sharma.
The event was a big hit, with a very engaging audience that came up with heaps of questions for the panel of speakers. Informal questions and discussions continued even after the dinner. After the event there was a complimentary henna session courtesy Sonam’s Mehndi (Point Cook).

Other prominent Victorian Indians that attended the event included Mr Rishi Dutta (Prudent Loan); Mr Aravind Putta and Mrs Jeyashree Nishtala (AIBC); Mrs Anchal Agarwal (AIFI); and Mr Rajendra Yenkannamoole (Vasudeva Kriya Yoga).
Ms Sidra Jutt (Mrs Pakistan Australia) and Ms Sana Malik (Melia Lawyers), were among the prominent members of Pakistani community that attended the event.
There was complimentary vegetarian dinner for all, catered by Biryani Mahal of Glen Waverley.
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