Day: 1 August 2012

Chicago IL: After seven months of careful planning, The Kachchhi Oswal Jain Association in North America (KOJAIN) pulled itself up by its bootstraps to host a successful 7th annual Sammelan in Chicago IL. KOJAIN was held at the Holiday Inn Express, 3405 Algonquin Road, Rolling Meadows, IL from 27th, 28th and 29th July of 2012. Close to 700 people enjoyed the 3 days Sammelan. Current Membership for KOJAIN is 1138 families in North America and 65 families are in Illinois. Attendees participated in numerous educational seminars, panel discussions and lectures by renowned speakers. The convention also featured Workshops, yoga for adults, meetings and entertainment by eminent artists. KOJAIN includes all Kachchhi Oswal Jains originally coming from Kachchh, Northwestern part of Gujarat State in India. 1400 households have made their homes in North America. Majority of KOJAIN community lives in North America with the biggest concentration in California, New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Tri State Area, Chicago Area, Houston Area, Toronto-Canada Area, Washington DC Area, South New Jersey Area and Atlanta Area. The KOJAIN Sammelan 2008 drew people from USA, Canada as well as people from India. This biennial Sammelan’s theme ‘Panjo Rangeelo Kutch’ was unique for its People, Culture, Art, Architecture, Customs, […]

Maywood IL: On Saturday, July 29, 2012, the Midwest Punjabi Sports Club held its 10th International Kabaddi Cup and Volleyball Tournament at Busse Woods Forest Preserve, Elk Grove Village, IL. More than 1600 individuals attended the engaging day of sports, food, and live entertainment. Punjab Sports Club, Midwest is ”the first sports club of the Midwest area that promotes Kabaddi and various other Punjabi games to the Punjabi community and Culture in Midwest of USA. Participants were male and ranged from the ages 18-40 and were from various parts of North America. Teams came from East Canada, West Canada, New York, Cincinnati, Sacramento, Indianapolis, and Chicago. Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team’s court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. Though Kabaddi is primarily an Indian game, not much is known about the origin of this game. There is, however, concrete evidence, that the game is 4,000 year old. It is a team sport, which requires both skill and power, and combines the […]

Chicago IL: Manav Seva Mandir located at 101 S. Church Road, Bensenville , IL celebrated Saptadev Katha and Gyan Yagya with devotees on July 21 to July 27, 2012 also 19th Patotsav was celebrated on Saturday, July 28, 2012 and Sunday July 29, 2012 at Mahalaxmi Hall. Saptdev Katha and Gyan Yagya were organized under guidance of Pujya Giriraj Shastriji . Patotsav is a ritual which celebrates the anniversary of the tithi when the murtis were first consecrated. Over 5000 devotees witnessed the special evening of Saptadev Katha and Patotsav. Mandirs and Murtis form the basic element of the Hindu Dharma. A traditional sacred ritual celebrating the anniversaries of Murti-Consecration (Prana Pratishtha) of Mandirs known as Patotsav, the word is a compound of Paat and Utsav, meaning festival. Paat is derived from Patti, a strip of garment tied on the head of a murti. From this evolved Paat. In essence, Patotsav is a Re-Consecration Ceremony, Re-Invoking Paramatma. This stems from the belief that during the whole year, the Murtis lose some Divinity from two possible factors: 1) Any Laxity by the Pujari in offering Devotional Worship. 2) The sheer volume of burden heaped at the Lotus-Feet of the Murtis by […]