India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Gandhi Samaj of Chicago, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, celebrated the Navratri Festival on Saturday October 20 at the Auditorium of Maine East High School, Park Ridge. The near four hour event included Garba and Raas with Rohit Parekh’s band. More than 900 people attended and danced at the Navratri celebrations.
Navratri festival is one of the most awaited festivals in Chicago for the community. Men, women, youth, elders and children dress up in beautiful multi-color attire and gather in large numbers to celebrate and perform Garba and Dandiya during the season.
The celebration was organized by Hitesh Gandhi, President of the Samaj and his team. Several attendees congratulated the president for organizing a beautiful event. During a talk he observed that the “festival, which began on October 10 ended with the triumph of good over evil on the day of Dussehra on October 19. Our community celebrates the colors of Navratri, the grandeur of Durga Puja. Families and friends come together to pray, dance and observe traditions in hundreds of different forms passed down from generation to generation”.
A devotee said “This is the oldest cultural organization of Indian-Americans over three decades of existence in Chicagoland. The purpose of the organization is to teach cultural awareness, traditional values and mythological and historical roots to current generations and beyond.”
Many prominent names in Chicagoland’s Indian community attended the festivities including candidatefor mayor of the Schaumburg Mayor Sunil Shah who was also the chief guest and keynote speaker. President Hitesh Gandhi thanked all the guests, supporters, devotees, sponsors and volunteers for their dedication and support to make this event successful.
The event would not have been possible without active support from Sunil Shah, Tushar Modi, Dharmesh Gandhi, Jay Gandhi, Tejal Gandhi, Kalpana Gandhi, Dimple Gandhi, Pravin Gandhi, Annie Gandhi, Radhika Gandhi, Krina Gandhi and many others.
