On Thursday, January 21st, 2021, the AIF New York Young Professionals (NYYP) Chapter kickstarted the New Year with a Virtual Trivia Night. Tested on their knowledge of pop-culture, Bollywood and Hollywood, teams battled it out for the grand prize of dance classes with Doonya. Hosted by Vyasar Ganesan from Netflix’s hit reality show, Indian Matchmaking, the night left everyone’s stomachs aching from all of the laughs and their hearts full from raising over $1,000 for AIF’s Light a LAMP Winter Fundraiser to give vulnerable children in India access to education during the pandemic.
Teams of 4-5 allowed for young professionals to gather and meet new and old friends from around the country. The evening consisted of three rounds of trivia with a special bonus question at the end of each round. While the race for 1st place was neck and neck until the end, team Sima Ki Jawani were declared the winners by just two points.
Vyasar ended the night with a Q&A allowing the audience to ask their most pressing questions from his time on Indian Matchmaking and left everyone on a hunt to find his girlfriend in the Zoom crowd. Taking a leap of faith to be on the popular Netflix show, he left with a group of close friends who remain in touch today (even their matchmaker, Sima Aunty!). Vyasar shared that while the show brought him to celebrity status, what brings him joy is being able to use his platform to raise awareness and support organizations like the American India Foundation.
While 2020 brought about a new reality for everyone, the NYYP Chapter looks forward to using the opportunity to be virtual to build a stronger community, welcome new guests, and continue to support AIF’s impactful initiatives.
