Joyous Lohri at Hari Om Mandir

Suresh Bodiwala

CHICAGO: A large number of Lohri lovers and devotees thronged Hari Om Mandir, Medinah on January 13 to celebrate the Festival of Lohri. The quality of singing/dancing and the quality of management simply stood out.
This Festival has always been celebrated in HOM in the traditional North Indian style with favorite foods, clothing, songs, customs etc. of Punjab. This year too, despite the very cold and frigid temperatures, devotees – close to a 1000 – came to the Temple to enjoy the Festivities.
The Temple Management had made adequate arrangements to serve the Special Meal of the Season – Makki Ki Roti, Sarson Ka Saag, Lassi and Gur Wale Chawal. Along with this, the traditional items like Bhugga, Popcorn, Rewari, Moongphali, Khajoor and Chirvara were distributed as Prasad. The Food was relished by one and all. Food Incharge Mrs. Pooja Sharma and her team of young girls from the “Sanjha Parivar” spent the morning cooking all the delicacies.

Several others joined with bringing in Peanuts, Gachak, Rewari, Chivda, Til Bhugga and Popcorns, Sarson Ka Saag and Makki Ki Roti. India House, a local restaurant and Star Food, also generously donated trays of Saag and Makki ki Roti. Mrs Prem Salwan (Star Foods) cooked the Gur Wale Chawal, which is a rare treat on this occasion.
Another star attraction was a beautiful village of Punjab, (Pind in Punjabi), set up to depict the true culture & ambience of this Festival. Colorful Phulkaris adorned the walls, while idols of young girls in typical Punjabi suits & boys in colorful turbans were displayed to showcase the village scene. A Charkha, a Chakki, a Dahi Matki, a well, a hand cart full of peanuts, rickshaws, a cart laden with the harvest crop, Manjis, Pirhis –
some of the commonly seen items in the streets of a Punjab village were all displayed in this HOM village. Men with Dhols and women in their Giddha spirit also shown on these streets, completed the visual.

A group of young girls (Puneet Gupta, Mukta Kapoor, Aastha Matta, Chetna Katare, Ruchi Bhadani, Avithakiran, Kanchan Kashyap, Sanghamitra Pal, Shikha Rai and Heena Bansal) led by Neha Sobti performed the traditional Folk Dance of Punjab – “Giddha”. The energetic performance was highly appreciated by one and all. This was followed by the “Jago” – another traditional ritual of Punjab. All the Ladies of our very own HOM Mahila Mandal, carrying colorful pots with lighted Diyas on their heads, entered the hall amidst huge clapping & cheering. In no time, men & women, all joined in to dance and the whole atmosphere was charged with energy.
Last but not the least, the Lohri Bonfire was lighted and people gathered around to offer the Prasad items to the Holy God of Fire. As the “Sunder Mundriye” Lohri song echoed to the beat of the Dhol, everybody – young and old – was seen dancing and enjoying. The evening concluded on a joyous note, wishing each other “Happy Lohri” and looking forward to a bright future.