BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES Issue 1

Bhaktidham Wales – a registered charity no. 1139888 | Events venue: Tongwynlais Village Hall, Merthyr Road, Cardiff CF157LF

www.bhaktidhamwales.com

Bhaktidham

Welcomes

29th

September

2014

BHAKTIDHAM: THE EXECUTIVE VIEW IN THIS ISSUE

Namaste Dosto! We are pleased with the release of this inaugural issue of Bhaktidham Wales’ newsletter publication. It is appropriate to acknowledge that we have been in existence as a charity since 2008. During this period, we have been very much involved in a range of activities that concern our Hindu community here in Cardiff and wider South Wales. Over the years, Bhaktidham has organised a range of widely attended events - major religious celebrations in our Hindu calendar, festivals such as Diwali, and musical events to showcase pieces by visiting Indian artists. It is also our pride that throughout these years and at our core, we have held and continue to hold regular religious Puja and Prasad almost every Sunday. We have brought together, within the frame of all these activities, families, friends and our community, who express similar interest and aspirations towards the pursuit of our Hindu faith among us here in Cardiff. In carrying out these activities, we engage our community through publicity flyers as well as hosting the website for the Charity.

One of the important principles that has emerged and appreciated is the strong financial support provided through donations, so far generously forthcoming from our Trustees as well as public donations during various religious and related community events that we organise. We very much hope that such encouraging and generous support for our activities will continue in the future for the benefit of all of us. We hope that this inaugural issue of the newsletter will provide an insight into our activities in the current and previous years. It will also provide information on forthcoming activities that we can look forward to and which would further enhance all your participation. We hope that there will be continuing support from all of you. Finally, please do not hesitate to write in to the Editor if you wish to provide information that will be relevant for what we in Bhaktidham could engage with in the future.

Dhanayavad Executive Committee, Bhaktidham Wales

Bhaktidham’s young Achievers A celebration of the academic and wider achievements of Bhaktidham’s young stars.

Page 2

Worship and oratory in Birmingham Find out more about Bhaktidham’s trip to Balaji temple and a national oratory competition through a devotional write-up.

Page 3

The Executive Committee’s welcome

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 2

Editor’s

In no small measure, the successes of Bhaktidham’s events have been driven by the dedication, the energy and the talent of its youth membership. That talent underpins a range of impressive recent achievements which we recognise and celebrate here.

Amongst our recent young achievers are:

(Dr.) Khushboo Sinha for success in MRCP examinations

Milind, Amreet and Shona for their AS- and A-level successes

Parinita, Kishan and Gracia for excellent GCSE results

Parinita, Riya, Nikita, Chirag and Sarvesh for their excellent, prize-winning performances at the Cardiff Regional and, subsequently, national oratory competition (see Page 3 for more)

Chirag Guha for national- and international-level performances as a young chess prodigy (see more below)

And our heartiest congratulations to Dr. Manisha Kale for the achievement of her Ph.D. in Psychology.

Chirag Guha, son of Bhaktidham members Debarati Guha and Partha Guha, and brother of Bhaktidham favourite Anurag, has made significant progress in the world of competitive chess, at an early age of 10. Chirag recently became the British Chess Champion in his age group in the prestigious event held in Aberystwyth, during July 2014. Only a month before this event, Chirag was also awarded with a Silver Trophy for his performance at the

Commonwealth Chess Championship, held in Glasgow.

Prior to this, Chirag has also represented his home country, Wales, in the World Youth Chess Championship in Dec-13, and played with the very best from various countries across the globe.

Chirag has been a bright kid from an early age. He developed his interest in the game of Chess at the age of seven, and showed natural flair while playing in several competitions within a few months’ time. The Wales Chess Union spotted his talent, and invited him to represent his country in the European Union Youth Chess Championship in July 2012, held in Austria, within 6 months of starting to play competitive chess.

Enthused with his performance in Austria, Chirag started playing in various competitions within England and Wales. He accomplished impressive results in both versions of game, Standard and Rapidplay, and has won tournaments equally at the

Juniors and Seniors level. He plays regularly within Wales and England, often travelling over the weekends, sacrificing other interests. Chirag cherishes a dream to become a Grandmaster before he joins University.

Chirag enjoys cricket besides chess, and also plays for a club in Cardiff. His player of choice is Jimmy Anderson, and he was also lucky to be Jimmy’s mascot, escorting him to the field during an England one-day match at Swalec Stadium, Cardiff.

YOUNG ACHIEVERS: CALL FOR MORE

I am keen that we dedicate space and time in each Bhaktidham Welcomes to celebrate young successes. Please get in touch to share your latest achievements!

KANISHKA (EDITOR)

kanishka.narayan@gmail.com

Celebrating Bhaktidham’s young achievers

World Championship? Checkmate, says

Bhaktidham knight

Dedicated Bhaktidham young members, celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 3

Editor’s

Events 2014

Hindi classes Each fortnight, since 6 April

Maha Sivaratri 27 February

Holi 17 March

Ramnavami 8 April

Balaji visit and oratory contest

20 April

Cricket match 20 July

Independence Day 15 August

Krishna Janmastami 17 August

Ganesh Chaturthi 29/30 August

Durga Puja 29 Sept-3 Oct

Diwali 23 October

New Year celebration 31 December

Recently, Bhaktidham members attended

the National Level Oratorical Contest in

Birmingham on 20th April 2014. This

contest, held at Birmingham’s Sri

Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, marked the

150th Birthday celebrations in memory of

Swami Vivekananda, a great Hindu

religious leader. The main message from

this iconic leader is that, to succeed, you

must have great determination and work

hard in order to reach what you want to

achieve in life.

Our journey to Birmingham started at

approximately 7:30 in the morning and

took just over two hours by bus. Our

intention for this visit was to support our

children who were taking part in the

contest. The journey to the temple was

entertaining with Antakshari musical

game played by all members which made

for a good first half of the journey. I had

a feeling that the driver of the bus, who

was Welsh, also enjoyed the fun.

We stopped for a break after an hour and

to our surprise we were served plates of

puris and potato sabji. This was a kind

gesture of one special couple who made

an effort to prepare this wonderful

breakfast for us and for which we were

deeply thankful. There was also a sense

of sharing within the community as food

was passed from one end of the bus to

the other. The second half of the journey

continued with a talented member

playing a few musical pieces on his

harmonica. This created a continuous

sing-a-long excitement with another

member tapping to the beat with hand-

held musical bells. There was never a dull

moment!

As we reached the temple, which was

located just outside Birmingham town

centre, at about 10.30 in the morning,

there were members progressively

chanting “Govinda Oh Govinda”. As our

bus drove towards the entrance of the

temple, we were welcomed by two white

magnificent stone elephants and with a

sign that welcomed us into the temple

grounds. As we got off the bus, we

managed to get involved in a group

photography session to mark the

beginning of our visit. The weather

forecast for the day was cold and with

occasional showers and true to this

prediction, we felt the chill as we set foot

at the temple grounds. However, the

weather did not stop us from enjoying

our visit since we were all well prepared

for any uncertainty head of us.

As we headed for the main temple we

started our walk-a-bout, after placing our

shoes and slippers in allocated areas. We

were captivated by the beautiful and

striking south Indian architecture and the

temple’s intricately carved pillars and

sculptures all around us and the overall

spirituality of the place. There were many

different shrines, which included among

others, the main deity Sri Venkateshwara,

Events 2013

Maha Shivaratri 10 February

Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja)

15 January

Holi 26 March

Rama Navami 19 April

Independence Day 15 August

Tour of Paris 24-26 August

Janmastami 28 August

Ganesh Charturthi 9 September

Dussehra October 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14

Diwali 9 November

Classical Indian music concert - Pandit Shri Shubendra Rao, Shrimati Saskia Rao-de-Haas and Shri Biplab Bhattacharya

1 December

New Year celebration 31 December

Puja and Lunch Every Sunday

A memorable visit to Balaji temple in Birmingham by Sheila Nair

Bhaktidham members at the Sri Venkateshwara (Balaji) temple

2013/14: OUR PAST EVENTS

2014/15: THE YEAR SO FAR, AND AHEAD

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 4

Editor’s

Lords Shiva, Ganesh, Murugan, Hanuman,

Shri Padmavathi and Shri Lakshmi.

The effect of agarbatti sticks, the smell of

sandalwood, temple lamps, together with

priests chanting soft prayers created a

mystical effect in the background. The

chantings of “Vishnu Sahastranamam” as

well as “Hanuman Chalisa” added to the

mystical ambience of the temple. There

were “Archana” services for individuals as

well as for the family after which

prasadam could be collected. I have to

say that the members of our community

enjoyed the special “pongal” that was

served at the temple, free to all devotees.

Special “Tirupati Laddu” can also be

purchased at the temple.

There were also Navagrahas outside the

main temple, adding to the overall beauty

of the temple grounds and which

reminded me of home. As a Hindu, I have

been taught that Navagraha or the Nine

Planets has great importance in our lives

and are considered to play an important

role in deciding our destiny. The nine

planets are seen as nine planetary deities

and believed to be responsible in

influencing the good or bad times that we

face in life. Nostalgically and hoping for

some added goodness in our lives and to

our blessed Bhaktidham community, my

family and I offered the traditional “diya

ghee-lit lamps” and made offerings to the

planetary deities. We ritually circled the

navagrahas nine times cupping the warm

diyas within both our palms, in hope that

it would overcome any negative karma

from our present and past lives.

After the main prayers, all devotees were

given free lunch by the temple

devasthanam, the body that runs the

temple, at another nearby location by the

side of the main temple and here we

enjoyed a wonderful meal of rice,

sambhar, potato sabji and kesari sweet.

After the spiritual experience with all the

Gods and Goddesses, we walked and

went into a small cafe inside a make-shift

tent. The café’s menu included wonderful

piping hot idlis, crispy vadas, crispy

doshas, uttapams, and lovely masala tea

to accompany these delightful snacks.

After all that excitement, it was time for

the oratory contest. Everything went on

as planned and the children who

participated were from London,

Manchester, Cardiff and gave their best

performance. We, members of

Bhaktidham Wales, felt so proud to watch

our children participating in this contest.

Congratulations and well done to all of

you. There was a participant who

explained Swami Vivekananda’s speech

by breaking it down and analysing it in

present day context and deserved to win.

The judges for the contest selected their

winners and the overall winner who was

selected was a participant from

Bhaktidham Wales (Parinita Swarnkar).

However, we applaud in praise of the

impressive public speaking skills of all the

participants who took part since they

were all in every sense winners in their

own rights. Congratulations also to all

the proud parents of the children who

participated in this contest.

As the contest ended, and our driver

started to drive out of the temple

grounds, once again, some members

started chanting “Govinda Oh Govinda”.

Although the journey was a little tiring,

the outcome was fabulous and absolutely

worth it with our community in Cardiff

being acknowledged as a winner. It is

hoped that this experience will encourage

others to come forward and get involved

in future challenges of a similar nature.

For me, in reflecting on this journey and

the memorable experiences, it felt so

good that there were Hindu temples like

these to nurture our souls, our society

and our future generations. Thank you to

all the Bhaktidham organisers for this

opportunity - I hope that there will be

many like this to come. Jai Bhaktidham!!

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ORATORY CONTEST

Bhaktidham Wales were invited by Balaji Temple Management to organise a regional oratory competition in Cardiff, winners from which took part in finals at Balaji Temple. We are happy to inform that a number of our members travelled to Birmingham for the finals.

In the national competition, Parinita Swarnkar was the winner in the Over 16s category. In the regional competition, Riya Kale, Nikita Swarnkar and Chirag Guha came 1

st, 2

nd and 3

rd,

with Sarvesh a close runner-up.

● ● ●

प्रेम को ब ाँटते चलें लोगों में प्रेमभ व बन ये चलो

इसी प वन संकल्प को ले कर लोगों भक्ततध म बन ये चलो

ममत ततव री (A wonderful call to Bhaktidham members

from member Mamta Tewary)

● ● ●

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 5

Editor’s

भारतीय वििाह प्रथा - अशिमा बत्रा by Ashima Batra

िेड िंग मतलब िादियााँ, वििाह़़ । भारत की तरफ़ से समूच ेविश्ि को एक अनुपम भेंट । एक ऐसी प्रथा जिसमें, एक लड़का और एक लड़की एक िसूरे को न केिल

समवपित होत ेह ़़िं बजकक एक िसूरे के पररिार को भी अपना पररिार िानकर अपनात ेहैं । और अपने िीिनसाथी के साथ पूरा िीिन और िीिन के बाि भी साथ रहने

की क़समें खात ेहैं । ि से तो िादियााँ िनुनया भर में अलग अलग तरीके़ से मनायी िाती हैं पर भारतिर्ि में आि भी िािी एक बहुत बड़ा और पािन समारोह होता ह और पूरा कुटुम्ब इसमें अपनी भूशमका ननभाता ह । हरेक ररश्तेिार की कुछ न कुछ रस्में होती हैं िो हरेक ररश्तेिार को उसकी महत्ता का अनुभि करिाती ह ।

भारतीय िादियों में खूब सारी मस्ती, मजाक़, गीत-सिंगीत और खानपान का वििेर् प्रबिंध ककया िाता ह । यह सबकुछ आमतौर पर िकुहन के वपता की तरफ़ से िकुहे

के समस्त पररिार को प्रेमपूििक अिभगत की एक रस्म होती ह ।

इसके अलािा िर-िध ूपवित्र अजनन के चारों तरफ़ सात फेरे लेत ेहैं और िीिनभर साथ ननभान ेकी सात क़समें खात ेहैं । हर तरफ़ सभी ररश्तेिार, उन्मुक्त हो कर खुिी, सुख और समवृि का िातािरण बनात ेहैं । बहुत सारे ररश्तेिारों के शलये यह समारोह अपने िरू के ररश्तेिारों से शमलने का भी सुनहरा अिसर होता ह । इसशलये

भारतिर्ि में वििाह का एक उपरोक्त स्थान ह ।

क से िीप िलाऊाँ रे - ममता नतिारी by Mamta Tewary

आली क से िीप िला के िीिाली मनाऊाँ रे हाँस के क से मैं आाँगन में रिंगोली सिाऊाँ रे

दिये की ज्योनत में दिखती हैं आग की धधकती लपटें िो दहिंसा अिंधेपन स्िाथिपरता की ताजी परतें िो पटाखों के िोर में उभरतीिं हैं ककसकी चीखें िो सिी बजत्तयों के पीछे राँ धीिं शससककयों की आिाजें आली क से सिधि कर नयी चुनरी पहनूाँ आभूर्ण से लि शसिंगार कर क से पूिन कर लूाँ

गुिड़ी के नीचे श्िान के साथ सो रहा भूखा लाल ककसका िाड़े की रात में दििुरती भूखी रोती मााँ का छप्पन भोग लग रहा ह एक ओर इस िहर में िेखो चूकहे में पानी चढा बच्चों को बहलाती रोती मााँ को िेखो मैंने ईश्िर के नाम पर ि तानों की साधना िेखी धमि के नाम पर मााँस मदिरा िुिंए की आराधना िेखी

आली क से िीप िला के िीिाली मनाऊाँ रे हॅस के क से मैं आाँगन में रिंगोली सिाऊाँ रे

महात्मा गााँधी - अत्रयेी मिुमिार by Atreyi Majumdar अस्माकम ्िन्मभूमी रत्नप्रसविनी अजस्त| अत्र यगेु यगेु महापरुर्ा: अभिन ् ये

मानिककयाणाय, िेिोध्िाराय, प्राणणनामुपकाराय स्ििीिनमवप समपियन|् तेर् ु

सिेर् ुमहात्मा गााँधी अग्रगण्यः अजस्त | ये महात्मन ्सत्यिं दह द्याननना उक्तम-्

जििजन्त च शमियिंन्ते च मजदिधा क्षुिििन्तिग: ,

अनेन सदृिो लोकेन भूतो न भविष्यनत|

स: गुिरातस्य पोरबिंिरनामके नगरे अिायता कविगुर: रिीन्र्िनाथ िाकुर: तस्य

महान ्आियािन ्गुणान ्च दृष््िा तिं महात्मा इनत सिंम्भार्णेन सम्माननत: अद्य

समग्रपथृथदयाम ्स: महात्मा गााँधी इनत उच्यते | स्ितन्त्रता आन्िोलने स: सिेर्ा भारतीयनािं प्रधान: मागििििक: च आशसत ् | तस्य सत्यागहृ आन्िोलनम ् न

केिलम ्भारतिरे् अवपत ु िक्षक्षणआकफिकायाम ्अप्रतीिम ्महत्िपणुिम ्अभित ् |

सः सत्यम ् अदहिंसाम ् च प्रनतष्िापनय िंत ु दृढप्रनतद्यः आशसत ् | मुलतः अदहिंसा सत्याग्रहरच तस्य िे अस्ते्र आस्ताम ् | सः अनेकिारिं कारागहृवप ननक्षक्षप्तम ् | तेन

प्रभुतप्रयासेन एििं विनारक्तपातेन भारतः स्ित्रतः सिंिात ्|

महात्मा गााँधी न केबलिं अतिंत्रस्ितिंत्रतासेनानी आसीत ्अवपतु सः एकः सिोत्कृष्टः समािसेिकः, उत्तमलेखकः ,शे्रष्िः मननर्ी एििं प्राकृनतकथचककत्सकः आसीत ् |

स्ििेििसतूना प्रचारः , नारीप्रगनतम ् , अस्पशृ्यतायाः उन्मुलनम ् ,राष्रभार्ाया प्रसारः, सििधमिसमन्ियः, सिेर् ु िािंतीम ् सद् भािनाम ् प्रसारःच तस्य

जििनलक्ष्याणण अभिन ्| ईश्िरे तस्य दृढविश्िासः

आसीत ्|

सः मानिसेिाव्रतिं आचरन ् 1948 तमे िर् े परलोकम ् अगच्छत ् | सः समग्रस्य

भारतिर्िस्य पथृथदयाः सकलायारच अलिंकारस्िरपः | सः मातभृुशम िं प्रनत अतीि

अनरुक्तः अवप सिािन ्िगज्िनान ्आजत्मयान ्अमन्यत ्|

आइनस्टाईन महोिये प्रोक्तः-

"Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked earth in flesh and blood." (For English summary, see next page)

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 6

Editor’s

Mahatma Gandhi:

by Atreyi Majumdar

Time and again, India has witnessed the advent of numerous great individuals. However, Mahatma Gandhi, endearingly called 'Bapu', outshines all of them in this time and era. Sensing his contribution to the attainment of India's freedom, in

thought and non-violent action, Tagore rightly called him 'Mahatma' (the noble one). India attained independence in 1947, adopting path of non-violence, satyagraha and peace to the astonishment of the entire world. His enormous contribution toward women's progress, removal of untouchability, eradication of poverty and inequality, universal education speaks volume about

his perpetual role in Indian politics and society. Einstein rightly stated "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked earth in flesh and blood." [This is the English summary of the Sanskrit note on the prior page]

Why I like Bhaktidham – Parinita Swarnkar

At home, it has always been ‘Hindi mein bolo’, in curriculum lessons we learn about Jewish or Buddhist culture, and in school assemblies, we sing Christian hymns, and listen to Bible passages, ending with Amen. Being brought up with Indian values, at home, amongst British values, at school, can, and has been, confusing at times.

Being Hindus, the different religious festivals follow the lunar calendar, which means that, invariably, they tend to fall on weekdays when we all either have school or work or some other commitment. In India, there are designated holidays for these occasions, but we do not have that benefit here in the UK, and so for that reason, I am glad that we have Bhaktidham. It allows us to participate, as it works around our day-to-day lives by being on weekends or in the evenings. But more than that, we get to learn about our religion; we learn why we do, make, or eat certain things rather than just doing them because everyone else is. Many people would say that we can learn and do these same things at home, so why organise a hall, food, and stay out till late in the night? The simple answer is: I really like being there. I do not feel tired when we are with everyone, and it makes that day special when we go out and do something that is not part of our usual routine.

Indian culture is not just religion; it is about movies, music, food, and much more. We all enjoy different things, some us like dance, others like singing, and some prefer to watch - Bhaktidham gives us the opportunity to do each of these. Every Holi, Indian Independence Day and Diwali, there is an entertainment programme, in which there are increasingly new faces performing. I think that without Bhaktidham I probably would not have gotten involved with as many things as I have done, like an Odissi dance or a speech competition at Balaji Temple. And doing the sequence on stage is not what it is about; it is about the memories and fun of practising and being with friends.

In the Bhakitdham group there is a wide age range, from children to adults. It is good because we can talk to people our own age about what we have in common but we can also talk to those who are older about their experiences and any advice they have. I have met a lot of people at Bhaktidham, and a lot of them are close friends who I look forward to meeting whenever there is an upcoming function.

In short, Bhaktidham is a community. We get to know each other outside of the festivals we celebrate together, and it is the people that make the functions enjoyable and the incentive to be there. Considering that, nowadays, we spend so much time at school or in other activities, it sometimes feels like we do not have much time for Indian culture anymore, and it is definitely not something that I would want removed from my life. So, for that reason I am happy that I can still maintain that alongside school, meet people and more at Bhaktidham.

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES Issue 1

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 8

Editor’s

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 9

Editor’s

Editor’s note by Kanishka Narayan

Thank you for reading this, the first issue of Bhaktidham Welcomes.

My abiding recollection from most Bhaktidham events is of a generous welcome – not just a banner proclaiming ‘Bhaktidham Welcomes’, but a similar generosity of spirit in the voluntary contributions that make those events work. I hope the pages of this newsletter can echo some of that spirit of voluntary association and generosity. To that end, I wanted to use this first editorial to express a note of invitation and a note of gratitude.

First, an invitation: this is the first newsletter, so your generosity – challenges, comments and contributions – is very much solicited in improving future versions. Those contributions make Bhaktidham what it is. I very much hope that voluntary commitment will spill over onto these pages, and particularly encourage young members to contribute.

Second, a note of gratitude: to edit is far easier than to have ideas, to write and to source contributions. Those harder functions have all been others’ labours – to the Executive Committee, and particularly to Nisha Rawindaran for making things happen and Nandini Tewary for creatively collating the images for these pages, thank you.

Kanishka

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES Issue 1

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 11

Editor’s

BHAKTIDHAM WELCOMES | Issue 1 12

Editor’s