CHICAGO: After seven months of careful planning, the Kutchhi Oswal Jain Association in North America (KOJAIN) pulled itself up by its bootstraps to host a successful 7th annual Sammelan in Chicago at the Holiday Inn Express from 27 to 29 July.
Close to 700 people enjoyed the three-day Sammelan. 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. Current membership for KOJAIN is 1138 families in North America of which 65 families are in Illinois.
The theme of the Convention centered around the Kutchhi heriitage, culture and the people with special focus on the colors of Kutch throughout the weekend. The rationale of this event was to keep that tradition alive and hand it over to the new generation. A range of exhibitions and artifacts provided further information on their proud heritage, traditions and culture.
Chandrakant Gogri, Chairman, Aarti Industries Limited and Aarti Drugs Limited was Chief Guest of the KOJAIN Sammelan and he was honored by the Association.
The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of Liladhar M. Gada, Founder Trustee of Bhojay Sarvoday Trust, Bhojay, Kutch, popularly known as ‘Addha.’ He was the keynote speaker on Saturday, July 28. Besides some of the favorites such as Garba, Raas and a statewide talent show , this year the new and fresh events like interactive Bollywood Nite and Kutch Utsav were received really well.
The following Awards were given to recognize contributions made by Kutchhis:
1) Shree Liladhar Manek Gada (Addha) received ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his significant contributions to the Kutchhi and people of Kutch by his selfless humanitarian work.
2) Mrs Rita K. Batheja received an award for significant contribution in the field of science (healthcare).
With the backdrop of beautiful Chicago, home to a vibrant Kutchhi and Jain community, arrangements were made for a visit to the Jain temple in Bartlett and an exciting Kutchhi Race for youths / young adults through the bustling streets of downtown Chicago. Large attendance was observed at the Entrepreneurship Workshop in addition to the workshops on Medicine and Financial Planning.
Other workshops included Vegan Cooking, Spiritual and Religious and youth workshops. The most important feature of this convention was to allow people reconnect with family and friends and build new connections for the future in large numbers, ranging from kids to elders.
Welcome speech was given by Mayur Ganger, Chairman of the host committee. He stated that the ultimate purpose of the Kojain Sammelan was to bring different generations from all over the nation under one roof to celebrate the Kutchhi culture. He thanked all his friends and family for helping him coordinate this event. He specially acknowledged the assistance given by Louis Shah, Shanti Chhadwa and Arvind Kotak who in turn welcomed everyone to the Sammelan. They thanked all the donors and sponsors at the local, national and international level who helped organize this memorable Sammelan.
Kutchhis, just as all Indians, love movies and music. And the concept of having a bash Bollywood style took birth with the quintessential Bollywood story of a man from a village in Kutch dreaming of making it big in Mumbai film industry.
There were several music and dance performances based on folklore such as Bhavayee and Kutchhi song Gajiyo, qawwalis and Hindi film music, intertwined with the story – a creative way for the organizers to give in-state and out-of-state attendees a chance to perform.
Also interspersed was the game of Antakshari that was played by the entire audience.
They were divided into 4 teams – the Khans, Kapoors, Khannas and the Bachchans. The rounds included the traditional dhun round played live and video prelude, etc. Audience interaction also included impromptu dancing to Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali songs. The dance floor was then opened to keep the party going late into the night.
Bollywood Nite concept, planning, organization and execution of the event was done by Vidhya Gangar, Nirav Shah, Vipul Dedhia, Amit Shah, Vipuj Shah, Saloni Jain, Hemang Srikishan, Pooja Shah and Sajni Ganger.
All food items which were give away in Souvenir bags were imported from Kutch to give the flavor of Kutch. All dresses were ordered from Kutch to keep the colors and originality of India. KOJAIN includes all Kutchhi Oswal Jains originally coming from Kutch.
1400 households have made their homes in North America. The majority of KOJAIN community lives in North America.
Asian Media USA
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