By Parveen Chopra
Woodbury, NY: Dr Jatin Shah, the leading head and neck surgeon in the world, was felicitated as The South Asian Times - Person of the Year 2025 at a gala function at Crest Hollow Country Club here on January 9, 2026. The gala was attended by who’s who of the Indian American community and many distinguished professionals.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Jatin Shah said that being recognized by your own family, community, or society is a unique honor.
Kamlesh Mehta, Chairman and Publisher of The South Asian Times, along with three Padma Awardees -- Padma Bhushan Sant Singh Chatwal, Padma Shri Dr Sudhir Parikh, Chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media, and Padma Shri Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, an eminent oncologist, presented the POY (Person of the Year) crystal plaque to Dr Shah.
Kamlesh Mehta, Chairman and Publisher of The South Asian Times, talks about the special edition honoring Dr Jatin Shah.
Dr Parikh, a family friend of Dr Shah, wished him more achievements and honors, good health, and a long life.
Dr Shah, who is 85 and completed 50 years of service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York last year, including over two decades as Chief of Head and Neck Service, said in his acceptance speech, “I am honored and feel privileged to be chosen by The South Asian Times as the Person of the Year for 2025. Being recognized by your own - family, community, or society - is a unique honor that is hard to come by, and even harder to achieve than any award or recognition from a professional or academic organization. For that, I am grateful to The South Asian Times. I will cherish this high honor for the rest of my life.”
Dr Shah, who is world-renowned for transforming the medical discipline in his specialty with research, innovations, and fostering collaborations worldwide, was introduced by Dr Ashok Shaha, Attending Surgeon on the Head and Neck Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering for the past 35 years.
Distinguished personalities, including previous Person of the Year honorees, congratulated Dr Jatin Shah - (from left) Naveen Shah, Kamlesh Mehta, Ravi Batra, Nimmi Mehta, Sant Chatwal, Dr Ivana Shah, Dr Jatin Shah, Dr Sudhir Parikh, Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, Ravishankar Bhooplapur, Ranju Batra, DCG Vishal Harsh, Chintu Patel, Mukund Padmanabhan and Mohan Wanchoo.
Dr Jatin Shah was also felicitated by eminent doctor friends of his - Doctors J Ganesh Bhat, Nitin and Leena Doshi, Shashi Shah, Narinder Kukar, and Bhupi Patel.
A video message from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman congratulating Dr Shah and The South Asian Times was played at the event.
A letter from Dr Subramania Iyer, Chairman, Head & Neck Surgery and Oncology at Amrita Hospitals and School of Medicine in Kochi, extolled Dr Shah as a beacon of inspiration and mentor and guide for numerous individuals and institutions across the world.
"Dr Shah's most adorable trait is his passion for transfer of knowledge, which has shaped the careers of several in our country, all of them leaders in the field now," the letter read.
The honorees of The South Asian Times - Person of the Year from previous years – Chintu Patel (2017), Naveen Shah (2018), Ranju & Ravi Batra (2019), Ravishankar Bhooplapur (2020), Mohan Wanchoo (2021), and Mukund Padmanabhan (2024) – spoke and congratulated Dr Jatin Shah.
The South Asian Times has been honoring a Person of the Year since 2010, with a special pull-out section coinciding with the New Year edition.
Nimmi Mehta, Kamlesh Mehta’s wife, felicitates Dr Ivana Shah, Jatin Shah’s orthodontist wife, with a shawl and bouquet.
Nimmi Mehta, Kamlesh Mehta’s wife, gave the welcome speech and felicitated Dr Ivana Shah, Jatin Shah’s orthodontist wife, with a shawl and bouquet.
Drs Jatin Shah and Ivana Shah with Kamlesh Mehta and his wife, Nimmi Mehta.
The special edition of The South Asian Times, recognizing and featuring Dr Jatin Shah as Person of the Year 2025, was unveiled on the occasion. Joining Kamlesh Mehta and Dr Shah for the unveiling were Vishal Harsh, Deputy Consul General at the Indian Consulate in New York, Dr Ivana Shah, Nimmi Mehta, Parveen Chopra, Founding Editor of The South Asian Times and Founder of A Lotus In The Mud, and Jori Kohli, an entrepreneur.
Deputy Indian Consul General in New York, Vishal Harsh, speaking on the occasion.
The Dr Jatin Shah POY Special carries an intensive and extensive interview with him, as well as over 50 congratulatory messages from his colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering, eminent head and neck surgeons, his peers and former trainees, as well as friends and family. They include Hollywood superstar Michael Douglas and Bollywood actor-director Rakesh Roshan.
The program concluded with the cutting of the cake, where all the key people joined in to congratulate Drs Jatin and Ivana Shah.
The program was EmCeed by Jori Kohli, who kept it soulful and energetic. Sneh ‘Sunny’ Thakkar, Artistic Director of Music for the Indo-American Arts Council, curated and presented a Sitar recital by Radhika Samson, who was accompanied by Ramanan Venkatraman (on Hansaveena), Manav Khurana (Tabla), and Joseph Costello (Ghatam). Ganesh Vandana and Kathak performance was by Aiyana Begani, Arya Gosalia, Aranya Kathpal, Zara Lakhani, and Nina Patel, students of Preya Patel of Vivarta Arts.
A Sitar recital by Radhika Samson and a Kathak performance by students of Preya Patel of Vivarta Arts were highlights of the evening.
A sumptuous, elaborate dinner was catered by Benares. The elegant gala event, attended by over 150 elite guests, was held at the exquisitely-decorated Grand Ballroom of Crest Hollow Country Club, one of the most beautiful venues on Long Island.
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The elegant gala event was attended by over 150 elite guests.
(Parveen Chopra is the Founding Editor of The South Asian Times and Founder of A Lotus In The Mud)
(All photos courtesy: The South Asian Times)
