GEETHA PATIL
BOSTON: The MA-MV Chapters of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) organized a Deepavali 2019 program November 16 at Priya Indian Cousin, Lowell, Mssachusetts.
This event was celebrated with other celebrations such as the Indian Supreme Court’s historic verdict on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith, and opening of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan for Indian nationals. Hundreds of participants rejoiced recent victories obtained after longtime efforts and demands.
Sanjay Kaul, vice president of VHPA, welcomed the gatherin. This was followed by Lord Ganesh, Shri Ram, Ma Lakshmi and Guru Nanak puja by Dr. Abhay Asthana and others with blowing of conch and chanting of mantras.
Before a panel discussion, all the participants paid their tributes to Vimal Bhatia who passed away at the age of 93. They also observed a minute’s silence for all those who sacrificed their lives in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
In the Celebration Talk session, Dr Abhay Asthana and Sanjay Saxena talked about the significance of Deepavali festival. Gurdwara president and Mona Khaitan spoke on the Prakash Parva, 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, and the opening of Kartarpur Corridor for Indian nationals respectively and enlightened the audiences about these topics. Amit Kanodia, Jagadish Tewari, Siddhartha Jayanti and Kanchan Banerjee talked about the Indian Supreme Court’s historic verdict on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and its timing as it coincided with the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor. They expressed their happiness at the dreams of Hindus and Sikhs coming true.
A melodious musical evening started with a renowned guest artist Kiran Nath who started with Ganesh Vandana and sang many other popular Hindi and Punjabi bhajans. Her sweet Krishna Bhajans filled with love made the audience get up and dance like the real gopis of Mathura. Small children who were specially dressed up for the occasion danced nicely to the tunes of the singer.
Abhilash Mehta played the table by creating rhythmic sounds and amused the audiences. Mona Khaitan moderated the musical session and encouraged the youngsters to participate in the event actively. . Kanchan Banerjee concluded the session with his brief remarks and thanked all the panelists, special guests and participants for attending the event.
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