Dr. Pratapaditya Pal

Edward Wilkinson, Director of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at Sotheby's (New York) and Executive Head of Ethnographic and Asian Art at James R. Lawson in Sydney, Australia, writing about Dr. Pal in the art journal Orientation, says:  “Pratapaditya Pal, curator emeritus and scholar extraordinaire, has remained one of the most influential forces in the field of Indian art and its most tireless propagator from the 1960s.  Apart from establishing public collections at various museums in the U.S., Canada and Australia, he has also played a key role in the formation of major private collections such as those of Christian Humann (Pan-Asian), Norton Simon, Edwin Binney 3^rd, and James and Marilyn Alsdorf.  His seminal publications include monographs on and catalogues of the collections at the Los Angeles Museum of Art and the Norton Simon Museum, as well as numerous private collections (among them the Zimmerman Family Collection and the John and Berthe Ford Collection) and countless pioneering exhibitions.  All are milestones in furthering interest in and understanding of the arts of greater India worldwide.  Throughout his career, Dr. Pal also formed a private collection reflecting many interesting aspects of his vision and mind.”
      Dr. Pal’s generosity has no bounds.  Two years ago, he donated his collection of approximately rare 150 oil lamps from India, Nepal, Tibet and South East Asia to UCLA’s Fowler Museum of Cultural History.  He has donated generously to The Indic Foundation, and recently pledged to donate his extensive library of books on art, history, culture and religion, some of which are out of print and rare, to the Indic Foundation. The first two hundred of them are now housed in the Honnold Library of The Claremont Colleges.
      Dr. Pal has been a true inspiration for everyone in the field.  SASA is pleased to recognize him as a man of great scholarship, integrity and generosity who has made many outstanding contributions to society.

Ms. Neena Bansil

Neena Bansil is the CEO of the Los Angeles based State Bank of India (California).  SBI(C) is an affiliate of India's largest bank, the State Bank of India.  Established in 1982, it has branches in Los Angeles, Artesia, Canoga Park, San Diego, Fresno and San Jose.  Its clientele includes not only the Indian-American community, but also individuals from many other communities in California.  Mrs. Bansil joined the State Bank of India in 1979 after graduating from the University of Delhi with a degree in physics.  Since she assumed the position of CEO, the SBI(C) has undergone the most significant expansion of deposits and loans since its foundation more than 25 years ago.  And, the SBI(C) has provided significant support for the promotion of knowledge about, and understanding of, India and its neighbors.  The South Asian Studies Association (SASA) recognizes both the impressive accomplishments of Neena Bansil and the very helpful contributions the SBI(C) has made to fostering intellectual exchange among scholars of South Asia.