Month: July 2013

Chicago IL: Betalish Gam KPS Chicago is celebrated 1st Picnic on Sunday, July 7, 2013 between 11AM -6.30 pm. at Busse Wood by Arlington Heights Road and Higgins Groove Number 11. There were many incorrect predictions as to the number of members who come the event. The estimations were much lower than the turn out. On a very busy weekend, more than 1600 members of this group came out to enjoy the hot summer day at the Busse Woods Park in Elk Grove Village. The event lasted from 11 AM to 7 PM. The organizers of the picnic had many ideas for how to keep the group busy and entertained. However, one of the daunting tasks of the event was how to keep everyone together and register all of those in attendance. Registration is an important aspect of any event that lets us get census data about membership population. Over 12 volunteers from the Youth 42 group – the organization’s youth arm focused on those 18 to 35 years old – ushered, registered, and organized over 1600 people for the event. The hot summer sun did not dampen the spirits of any one however. All of the activities and food […]

Chicago IL: Shreejidwar Haveli (www.shreejidwar.org) established by Vaishnav Samaj of Midwest (VSM) located at 440 W Fullerton Avenue, Addison, IL 60101 celebrated its 5th Patotsav (5th Anniversary) over a period of four days in a grand manner. There were unique Darshans of Lord Shrinathji under Pushti Pranali every single day. Celebrations started on 4th July with Shobha Yatra followed by Kunvaro Darshan during the morning hours. There was Vivahkhel Darshan in the evening followed by Garba. Sagai Khel Darshan was organized on 5th followed by Music evening by Shweta Ranade and Amit Pachegaonakr from Mumbai. Chhapanbhog – the ultimate celebration and Darshan was organized on 6th July. There was Vrajkamal Darshan on 7th July to conclude the celebration. Spiritual discourses were given by .Pujya 108 Shri Dwarkeshlalji (Vadodara) .He guided the celebration, explained the significance, and spiritual meaning. More than 4,000 devotees from Chicago land and Midwest participated in the event. Youth had become the volunteers and shouldered the responsibilities of Event Planning, Parking, Food, Darshan Management, etc. Lunch and Dinners were organized by VSM every day. Devotees praised the excellent management of every activity. Shreejidwar was built with a capital outlay of more than $3 million in May 2008. […]

Toronto: Akhil Anjana Association of North America (AAANA) organized a grand two-day convention in Toronto (Ontario) that began on Sat., June 29 at the Gore Meadows Community Centre in Brampton and continued the next day at Vaughan Secondary School in West Vaughan. Both days were devoted to fostering community cohesion through recreational activities and the launch of a dedicated website. There were also several guests invited from India Manibhai Chaudhary (Pamol) Rameshbhai Chaudhary ( Bakarpur) Shivrambhai Chaudhary (Indrapura) Babubhai Chaudhary (Bhrahmanvada) Saturday commenced with lively outdoor activities, such as egg toss, dodge ball, cricket and badminton matches), and a meet and greet socializing session over breakfast. Youth dances including garba were performed through the evening over dinner. AAANA Vice President Uday Chaudhary gave a brief introductory speech and invited Meenakshi Chaudhary and Parth Chaudhary to be MCs. AAANA President and Vice President Muljibhai Chaudhari & Uday Chaudhary also later came on stage to receive and felicitate the guests from India with shawls and memento. The program started with lighting of the auspicious lamp. An invocatory dance offering flowers (Pushpanjali) was performed by five-year old Jia Chaudhary and seven-year old Vishwa Chaudhary, who had come all the way from Alabama. This […]

Chicago IL: Masti-Karaoke & DCA Presented Chicago ki Aawaz on Saturday – June 29, 2013 at Pakwaan Restaurant, 7947 Golf Road, Morton Grove, IL .The event was sold out with over a 150 people in the audience!!! This sold out event started at 7PM and went on till 1:30AM with non-stop Bollywood songs being sang by 20 singers. Both amateurs and professional singers pleased the crowd for hours. Increasing popularity is evident in the increase in participants in this event. People participated from different suburbs of Chicago, southern Illinois and neighboring states of Wisconsin and Indiana. Masti-Entertainment was started by Mr. Mujeeb Ahmed on June 15th 2012. It went from a handful of members to over 175 members currently and continues to grow. Over the past 10 months, Masti entertainment has supported or organized 21 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. where young and not-so-young, […]

Chicago, IL: The 2013 Eye on India Festival (EIF) featured a symposium entitled Words on Water on Sun., June 29 hosted by the downtown Dance Center of Columbia College. Flown in from India were chronicler of Maoist insurrection, Sudeep Chakravarti, and banker turned best-selling novelist, Amish Tripathi. They were joined by Chicago-based psychiatrist Bulbul Bahuguna. Each speaker was interviewed by a knowledgeable local host and the audience responded to all three authors with wide ranging questions. They read out select passages from their books and spoke their minds candidly. Interviewed by Valerie Lewis, Bahuguna described how exposure to the secrets of her trauma patients have been fictionalized into her first novel The Ghosts That Come Between Us, which is about illness, parental abuse in early childhood, love, and coping with the past. The protagonist Nargis is brutally honest in her inner dialogue that we eavesdrop upon through her psychiatrist-author, which is largely why her story is told in the first person. Bahuguna’s own early experiences in India have been projected into the depravity of recently independent third-world nation. Characterizing Nargis’ father as a larger than life showman with an outsized ego, she clarified his hold over victims by pointing out […]