CHICAGO: Members of Indian Seniors of Chicago met at Manav Seva Mandir in Benselville, a north side suburb of Chicago, on Saturday August 12 to celebrate birthdays of members, the India Independence Day, Janmashtami and Raksha Bandhan festivals all in one program.
Close to 300 members and guests attended the program. The meeting was conducted successfully by Naresh Dekhtawala. The start was with prayers from Bhupendra Suthar, Hema Shastri, Kantaben Patel and Panna Shah followed by Hanuman Chalisa. Chitranjan Desai presented detailed accounts for the month of July with donors’ names. He also gave accounts of the annual picnic held on July 8 and attended by 300 plus members and their guests.
Speaking on Independence Day celebrations, he observed that the prime minister usually highlights the past year’s achievements, raises important issues and calls for further development. He pays tribute to the leaders of the Indian independence movement. He said that UNO has declared ‘Jan Gana Mana as the best national anthem of the world.
His speech was followed by showcasing the march past of divisions of the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces. Parades and pageants scenes from the independence struggle and India’s diverse cultural traditions were also presented.
Shri Durgesh spoke on the importance of Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival that highlights the love and duty between brothers and their sisters. Hirabhai Patel gave details about the forthcoming Annual Entertainment program scheduled for December 2 in Mahalakshi Hall of Manav Seva Mandir. He requested all the members to co-operate for the success of the program.
Chandrakant Patel, Tour leader, recounted his experiences about the tour of East Europe, Scandinavia and Russia organized last month from July 15.
Guest speakers Maulik Desai and NileshTopiwala from Universal Accounting Services Inc, briefed on US taxation rules for NRIs. They also got questions from senior members and provided clear understanding about the rules.
Arvindbhai Kotak and Bhupendrabhai Suthar called the seniors whose birthday fell in the month of August. They were given birthday greeting cards and booklet by honored guest Maulik Desai.
Bhupendra Bhai and all the members sang the song ‘Barbar ye din aaye, tum jio hazaro sal, happy birthday to you’ and greeted members having birthday in August.
For the celebration of Independence Day, Bhupendra Suthar, Sandip Sheth, Mayura Desai, Hema Shastri, Gita Suthar, Kanta Patel, Madhuben Patel, Nalini Shah, Lalita Patel, Chandrakant Shah, Kanubhai Patel, Urmila Patel, Veena Mayani, Kalaben Patel and other members marched in procession with Indian flag and sang a national song ‘Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara’ and gathered in front of the audience and saluted the Indian National Flag.
Then everybody sang the National Anthem ‘Jan Gana Man’. Bhupendra Suther and Sandip Sheth sang National songs with other members. Then ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ slogan was loudly chanted by all the members.
Hema Shastri spoke on Raksha Bandhan in detail and then called some selected members for the celebration of Raksha Bandhan.
Vandana of TV Asia was present at this occasion for the TV coverage and she also participated in the Raksha Bandhan celebration. Sheela Shah sang a Raksha Bhadhan song with Bhupendra Suthar. Everybody enjoyed the program.
Celebration of Janmashthami was done by Aarti of Lord Krishna by all the members and they danced and enjoyed this occasion. In the end all the members recited a shloka and enjoyed the delicious food.
Jayanti Oza
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