Month: April 2013

Chicago IL: A gathering of over 85 people celebrated old and new Bollywood songs on Saturday April 6th, 2013 at Masala Grill restaurant, 2948 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL. This sold out event started at 7PM and went on till 12:30AM with non-stop Bollywood songs being sang by 20 singers. Both amateurs and professional singers pleased the crowd for hours. Masti-Entertainment was started by Mr. Mujeeb Ahmed on June 15th 2012. It went from a handful of members to over 125 members currently and continues to grow. Over the past 10 months, Masti entertainment has supported or organized 19 meet-ups. Masti-Entertainment organizes karaoke night called “Chicago Ki Awaaz” every 6-8 weeks, at venues all over Chicago land. This night is for music lovers to get together and sing their favorite songs or just enjoy listening to other singers. Chicago Ki Awaaz provides a platform for singers to express themselves through music and welcomes artists of any age, religion and culture. Its mission is to bring out hidden talents within the Desi community and support singers who have God given talent to realize their potential. Being an integral part of the group will provide the singers opportunity to perform at local […]

Chicago IL: The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC) in Lemont, Ill., celebrated the Holi festival with an afternoon dance program, followed by the traditional and indispensable throwing of colors at each other, and culminated in the burning of Holika as darkness fell. The crowd eventually numbered well over a thousand with even the planned remote parking facility filled to capacity. The cultural program was emceed by Om Dhingra, Chairman of HTGC Cultural Committee, and dance teacher Vidya Pandikaran, who performed recently at the temple for Shivaratri. A ten-minute animation of Prahlada’s devotion to God against his egoistic demon-father’s will was shown at the beginning. It explained how malicious Holika, after whom the festival is named, drew her devout nephew into the fire on her lap but ended up burnt to ashes instead of him. Welcoming the audience, HTGC President Tilak Marwaha observed that attendance has been increasing every year with even non-Desi parents bringing their children to enjoy the festive spirit. Quite a few were there at the start of the dance program. He later told Asian Media USA that many came out of curiosity after seeing images of Holi from previous years on Facebook. Most of the dance […]

Chicago IL: An annual health fair was organized at Shree Jalaram Mandir located at located at 425, Illinois Blvd , Hoffman Estates , IL , on Sunday, April, 7, 2013. About 275 individuals availed the free services provided at this health fairs. The health fair was it is annual community service event open to any needy individual without consideration of race, religion, ethnicity or age People taking advantage were many devotees and all those needy without medical insurance, visitors and others in need of medical check-up. More than 100 enthusiastic health care volunteers of Jalaram Mandir participate in organizing this community service event. These volunteers are also accountable for such community beneficial programs in addition to the religious activities. The social and humanitarian activities include blood donation drive, bone marrow drive, yoga classes, classical dance classes, music and instrument classes, youth activities didactic classes etc. One of such large scale significant program organized by the temple volunteers is the annual health fair. This event marked the 4th year of the health fair. Long lines of participants arriving early in the morning to take advantage of the medical services. The main coordinator of this event was Mr. Bakulbhai Thakkar. This healthcare […]

Chicago IL: Chicago community came in large numbers to support a very worthy cause- The Gift of Education” for the underprivileged Children of rural and tribal villages of India. Swar Sanjeevani 2013 was held on Saturday, April 06, at Glenbard North High School, 990 Kuhn Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188. Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation Chicago Chapter organized this charity fundraiser event to provide free education to Rural & Tribal villages of India . Ekal Vidylaya- Peoples movement Started by Ordinary People. Ekal’s philosophy is to take a holistic approach to social and economic development and eradication of illiteracy from remote and tribal villages of India .The Ekal movement is the largest, grassroots, non-governmental education movement in India, operating in over 46,966 villages and educating over 1,335,078 children in rural India. Goal is to reach 100,000 villages by year 2015 . This year, 2013, marks 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the revered ‘spiritual master of modern age’, who more than a century ago, initiated the concept of ‘oneness’ of global humanity. Noting the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy in India, Swamiji had emphasized, “If the poor child cannot go to Education, then the Education must go to the child”. Chicago […]

Chicago, IL: Hand in Hand USA (HiH) held its 11th annual fundraiser the evening of Saturday, April 6, 2013 at the Holiday Inn, 3405 W Algonquin Rd., Rolling Meadows, Ill. Over $120K was raised during the event after a generous donor offered to match all other contributions dollar for dollar. There was also a cultural program of dances and songs by local performers. Mayors of three neighboring cities, chief guest Al Larson of Schaumburg, Bill McLeod of Hoffman Estates, and Rodney Craig of Hanover Park graced the occasion. Larson made a brief speech urging the community to vote for his colleague Bill McLeod in the upcoming municipal elections for Village President. MC for the evening was Elizabeth Munnich Dash, daughter-in-law of longtime active HiH volunteers Mihir and Usha Dash. A documentary on HiH philanthropic activities kept playing before the event began. HiH President Durga Chinduri acknowledged the presence of the Mayors, welcomed the guests, and emphasized that 95% of funds received go directly to the projects, with hardly any overhead costs, for everyone here is a volunteer with no paid staff. Munnich Dash quoted C.S Lewis that “the proper aim of giving is to put the recipients in a state […]

School after school, Church after church, Temple after temple, Shrine after shrine, there were thousands of shoes/sandals outside the doors. Wow! Why? Many of the children ran around in the remote rural villages without shoes perhaps because they didn’t have footwear but because the ground was sacred. Where the animals sojourned is sacred ground. Where the people plowed the fields for beautiful sun flowers was sacred. Where the mother milked the water buffalo for sustenance was sacred. Where the children were born and lived in humble two room houses was sacred. Where the blood of martyrs fertilized the land like Gandhi and Thomas the Apostle became sacred ground. And so I was prepared when I finally entered the sacred shrine of St. Thomas the Apostle tomb, the “shoe caretaker” stopped me at the entrance and pointed to my shoes. I immediately knew to remove them for I am AGAIN on sacred ground. Thus, I descended into the tomb chapel of St. Thomas Apostle in my bare feet, vested for holy mass and for the first time presided at mass in my bare feet over the tomb of St. Thomas. Wow! I will never again be afraid to take off my […]

New Delhi, 2nd April 2013: President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee expressing his worry on increasing incidents of crime on women and female foeticide said that social organizations should work to stop such incidents. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee was releasing the first copy of new edition of books written by Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni ‘The Unborn Curse’ and ‘Terrorism the Global Challenge’. On the occasion State Minister for Coal Shri Shriprakash Jaiswal was also present. Mr. Mukerjee said that crime on women and female foeticide cannot be stopped just by law, for this people have to change their thinking for females. Female foeticide will lead to increase in crime, chaos and moral degradation in the society. Appreciating both the socially relevant books written by Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni he said that these books will help in changing the thinking of people. He further said that this is not the problem related to any cast, creed or religion; this problem is faced by the whole society. The whole society together has to worry about this problem and change will come when everyone will make efforts to solve it. President Mr. Mukherjee said war, violence and terrorism cannot solve any problem. Remembering incidents from his […]

India Ahmedabad: For over 40 years, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), has travelled throughout the world, from villages in rural India to metropolitan cities in America. He has visited the homes of thousands of devotees, providing solace and guidance in both spiritual and personal matters. For the past few months, however, his advancing age has prevented him from travelling and imparting such personal guidance as before. On March 6, Pramukh Swami Maharaj announced through a letter that all sadhus and devotees should now consult Pujya Mahant Swami (Keshavjivan Swami) for guidance on their day-to-day affairs and issues. The letter was read out in a public assembly by Pujya Doctor Swami (Swayamprakash Swami) in Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s presence in Ahmedabad. Senior swamis of BAPS explained, “Pramukh Swami Maharaj continues to be the spiritual head and guru of the organization. However, as he is 92 years old now, and naturally due to health-related limitations, he is no longer able to travel to villages and cities to reach out to the followers as he did before, when he often met hundreds of people daily to give spiritual guidance.” Pujya Keshavjivan Swami, also known as Pujya […]

Chicago IL: Traditional Bharatnatyam repertoire is called Margam or journey. The dancers of Bharatam Academy of Dance took the audience on this delightful journey with a dazzling display of Bharatnatyam dances ranging from beginner to those of the highest professional calibre. The occasion was “Bharatam Dance Showcase 2013” at the Oswego East High School auditorium on March 23rd, 2013. In her introductory remarks, Guru Vanitha reiterated that art of Bharatnatyam is a rich continuum and living tradition of South India. It was apparent to any spectator that more than the students going through the art, the art had gone through the students, who graced the stage with poise and delight, displaying these rich traditions here in the USA. This was a testimony to Guru Vanitha, whose commitment to the art of Bharatnatyam is a testimony that for her, dance is a way of life. The emcee for the evening, Ranjani Rajan, welcomed the audience and introduced each of the dances with a brief description of the dance along with classical notations for the song that accompanied the dance. The program began with Nritta Anjali, a prayer and offering with pure classical dance elements, set to Adi Talam. After that, dancers […]

Chicago IL: In response to the recent wave of violence across the USA, the Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) has launched an ambitious movement, Non-Violence: No Higher Calling (NonVio) that was kicked off personally from Chicago by AOLF founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont the evening of Thursday, March 28, 2013. Significant participation of local grassroots civic organizations grappling with this pandemic, having Chicago as its epicenter, was capped by vocal endorsements from Illinois politicians and bureaucrats. Present were US Representatives Jan Schakowsky (9th District) and Danny Davis (7th), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar. Governor Pat Quinn’s resolution making March 28 “Non-Violence: No Higher Calling” Day across Illinois was introduced by AOLF teacher for the past 20 years Debra Poneman and read out by the Governor’s representative Teresa Marr, who presented a plaque to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in attestation. This NonVio campaign calls for individual pledges to acts of nonviolence to counter the growing violence epidemic (www.nonvio.org). The goal is to accumulate one billion pledges, which is100 pledges for every one act of violence recorded in the US each year. For Ravi Shankar, the […]

Bartlett, IL: Committed to the progress and growth of women worldwide, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha celebrated its sixth annual Midwest Women’s Conference held in Bartlett, Illinois on March 30, 2013. Over 450 women of all ages were in attendance at the conference which focused on this year’s theme of “Timeless Traditions: Celebrating the Past, Cultivating the Future”. The conference focused on understanding the glory of Hindu traditions, communicating them with ease, and nurturing future generations by preserving a priceless culture and traditions. The conference started with a traditional Hindu prayer for peace and candle lightening ceremony. A group, which included a mother and daughter, from the Kalapadma Dance Academy performed a traditional dance on stage, while a daughter and her mother shared hosting duties; it was evident that our youth is committed to maintaining their timeless traditions and family values. Dr. Aditi Sheth, a Psychiatrist at Cleveland Clinic, stated “At the end of the day —While it “takes a village” to raise a child, it is a parent’s responsibility, especially a mothers’ responsibility. It starts with us….. It starts in our homes –our values like touching feet of our elders, our choice of language…,our food, clothes …all of it”. In 1996, […]

Chicago IL: Adnan Sami staged a live concert on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at Sears Center, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, Ill. The multi-talented pianist, singer, composer, actor, and musician, also reputed to be the world’s fastest keyboardist, was back in Chicago after eight years with a spectacular new show presented by Combined Oil Company, Live 2U, and Desi Bazaar. Sami mesmerized an enthusiastic crowd of more than 3800 listeners for about 3 hours. British-born 39-year old Sami is of Pakistani origin, currently holds Canadian citizenship, and lives in Mumbai, India. His style merges Asian and Western music styles and instrumentation and ranges from classical to jazz to modern pop-rock. The first person to play Indian Classical music on the electric piano, Sami is featured in a documentary recently commissioned by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office amongst the ten most famous names from India and Pakistan, who have influenced Asian culture in the UK over the last fifty years. He is committed to experimenting with new styles and forms rather than be taken hostage by past successes. Sami started by singing “Allahu Akbar” and showing his virtuosity on the keyboard. He went on to sing the following songs: […]