Indo American museum plans permanent gallery in Lombard
A national hub for recognizing the contributions Indian Americans have made to the broader American culture is coming to Lombard.
The National Indo American Museum has been established for 10 years and has an office in Chicago, but it is planning to open its first permanent gallery and event space sometime next year in the Lilac Village.
The museum's facility at 815 S. Main St. has been donated by Umang and Paragi Patel, who also are funding a renovation to turn the 8,000-square-foot building into a place to host exhibits, contests, educational programs and children's activities.
Amita Banerji, vice president of the organization that became a national group last December, said the museum aims to celebrate the stories of Indian Americans across generations and document the ways they have contributed to the shaping of America.
"The Patel Center will serve as a model for sharing and connecting the community's stories in Indian American museums across the country," Banerji said. "We strive to tell stories beyond those that regularly surface in the media."
The museum has been a largely digital effort so far, with much of its outreach and storytelling conducted through technology, educational programs or pop-up events.
The museum engages schoolkids in Chicago with courses called Ethnic Dialogues, which covers cultural elements such as religion, festivals and food, and the Gandhi Peace Program, which brings ethicist Mahatma Gandhi's message of nonviolence to the classroom.
The museum also celebrates Indian culture with festivals in the suburbs called "Cricket Melas," using the Sanskrit word for a gathering or a fair in the name of the events designed to enjoy the heritage games of cricket and kite-flying.
Banerji said museum leaders, staff members and volunteers are looking forward to the advent of a permanent physical space next year but do not yet have a target date for the opening.
To raise funds for the Patel Center's operations, the museum is hosting a gala at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center. The event aims to raise $100,000 and will honor former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi by making her the second inductee into the National Indo American Museum's Hall of Fame. Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer became the first when he was inducted in 2016.
During the gala, Nooyi is set to engage in conversation with Lakshmi Menon, one of the museum's founding board members, to answer questions and connect with younger audience members.
"That has raised a lot of excitement," Banerji said.